FIDM Museum Blog

Fashion Birthday: Miuccia Prada

Happy birthday to Miuccia Prada, born on May 10, 1949! Prada, the creative force behind her family's 100 year old company, has a knack for distilling her interests (in and outside of fashion) into influential collections that chart the course of fashion. Miuccia Prada's design philosophy revolves around a version of aspirational dressing: "Clothes should always represent your vision of yourself...or what you want to represent—even if it's only for one night."¹ Her approach to design is thoughtful. Rather than providing pat answers regarding her inspiration for a particular collection, Miuccia Prada offers explanations that hint at her interest in connecting fashion with broader cultural issues. Regarding her Spring 2013 collection, Prada declared, "Dream is forbidden, nostalgia is forbidden, to be too sweet is not good. Everything we used to feel historically, now you can't enjoy. The clothes are the expression of this impossible dream."²

Prada pumps
2003-2004
2005.5.91AB
Museum Purchase

Prada orchid shoes, Spring/Summer 2008

Shoes
Spring/Summer 2008
Miuccia Prada
Silk velvet, suede, leather & plastic
Museum Purchase
2009.5.11AB

Miuccia Prada (b. 1949) received a PhD in political science from the University of Milan, but altered the course of her life by entering the world of fashion. She is a major collector of modern art—a passion reflected in collaborations with emerging talents, such as artist James Jean (b. 1979), who drew enchanted forests filled with fairies, insects, and orchids for Prada's Spring/Summer 2008 line. Jean's sinuous illustrations were enlarged as a backdrop for the fashion show and advertising campaign, in addition to being printed on clothing, purses, and shoeboxes. His fantasy world came to life in Trembled Blossoms, a short animated film produced to correspond with the Prada collection. Transformation and fragility pervade the movie: a naked, nymph-like woman emerges from an orchid to be dressed in a complete Prada wardrobe by magical forest creatures that morph into clothing. Orchids blossom on the heels of this pair of pumps; their glossy sheen suggests hand-painted porcelain. The rich floral palette and girlish bows continue the theme of enchanting female charm.