Prada
ONLY RESEARCH
Promotion
From British Vogue creative director, Robin Derrick, writing for CR in 2002, argued that it was almost impossible to think of a photograph that couldn’t now be used in a fashion context, so all-encompassing had fashion become. Yes, fashion advertising was ultimately about selling product, but it was doing so in increasingly subtle and diverse ways – if highly codified to the outsider.
Prada art director David James
David James became art director for Prada in 1997. He had been working for with photographer Glen Luchford since the early 90s. Prada asked Luchford for some ideas for a new ad campaign and Luchford asked James to help him out. They presented their ideas to Miuccia Prada and got the go-ahead for a three-week cinematic shoot that became the Spring Summer 97 ad campaign.
For Prada, James is very much art director rather than graphic designer. He long ago realised that his true interest lay in imagery: even when working with type, whether on the magazines or with Trevor Key, it was type as imagery that attracted James. Fashion offered the best means to pursue this interest. The photographers that he had been working with on sleeves – Nick Knight, for example – had graduated toward fashion. James followed them.
Prada Fall/Winter 1998-99
model Angela Lindvall
art director David James
photographer Norbert Schoerne
The barrier between art photography and fashion photography grew ever more porous as each borrowed the other’s themes, ideas and practitioners. This crossover was celebrated in an exhibition at MoMA New York in 2004: Fashioning Fiction in Photography since 1990. New York magazine’s reviewer of the show, Mark Stevens, noted that, “Artful fashion is often better than fashionable art … the best photographers make something lasting from the fancies of the moment.”
On the advertising side, no-one was doing this better than James in his work for Prada. Just as the more cerebral art directors of record sleeves use their canvas to express not just ideas about the music but also about the wider culture, so James was doing for fashion. Prada gave him freedom, time and budgets. For the Spring/Summer 01 campaign James recruited the photographer Cedric Buchet for a three week shoot: the voyeuristic long-lens shots of overdressed models on a studio-bound beach remain one of the most striking fashion campaigns ever produced.
In latter years, however, fashion advertising’s cutting edge has been dulled by the demands of international brands ever more reliant on bags, shoes and sunglasses for their profits. Product is thrust to the fore with celebrities used as a short cut to sophistication. But fashion’s somewhat tardy embrace of the internet is leading to more interesting creative opportunities, for both fashion brands and for James. Last year, he worked with Chinese contemporary artist Yang Fudong on First Spring, a nine-minute short film for Prada which was released online in January. Prada’s Spring Summer 10 print ads were stills pulled direct from that film. In fact, all of James’s recent Prada ad campaigns have been shot first as moving image pieces, with the print using stills pulled from the footage.
“The idea of fashion being defined by photography, as it’s been for decades, is over,” James says. “We are starting to see a new phase where fashion will be defined by film.” The emergence of the internet both as a medium to advertise on and as a creative medium in its own right is what fascinates him now, he says, pointing to the work that Nick Knight has done at his ShowStudio site as an indication of the potential fashion has online. James is to re-orientate his studio toward making moving image work, or at least work that can exist in both moving and still form. “We are so used to looking at fashion as a static image – how do you express those ideas in film? It’s really exciting,” he says.
Spring Summer 01 ad for Prada Sports
Spring Summer 2004 Prada campaign
This have a painterly quality inspired by the tie-dyed fabrics used in the collection. James asked Pascal Dangin at retouchers The Box to come up with a digital way of painting Steven Meisel’s images in post-production. A feature of James’s work for Prada have been the finely crafted invitations produced for each season’s catwalk shows.
The reference for the Prada Spring Summer 09 campaign was Greek and Roman sculptural reliefs. The models were purposefully chosen to look similiar. Photographer Steven Meisel asked them to push and shove each other as they moved across the set. The idea was also filmed for Prada’s fragrance commercial. In future, James envisions doing more and more moving image work but he will carry on producing Prada’s exquisite show invitations.
For Prada’s Spring Summer 09 show, he knew little about the clothes except that they combined raw and techno fabrics. A piece of white plastic is housed in corrugated cardboard sleeve. A lozenge-shaped perforated section can be popped out to reveal the show details within
Selling the Prada Look
Prada's past-meets-future ethos is also evident in its advertising campaign's, which have a strong and novel editorial narrative.
Every campaign tells a carefully recounted tale in which the mood created and the model's expression become key. The clothes, which ironically become almost incidental, are part of a fantasy designed to appeal to consumers worldwide. The campaigns bring together the best production teams-headed by leading photographers such as Stevenn Meisel, who has shot the campaigns for almost a decade who interpret and convey Prada's modern vision.
Presenting a collection to the public creates yet another opportunity to showcase the essence of the brand. Prada's approach, no doubt influenced by Miuccia's time at the Teatro Piccolo, can at times be as theatrical a converted factory in Milano on Via Fogazzaro to host its shows.
Time after time, the space is transformed through installations, screens and decor to fit with each collection's concept and deliver its specific message. No detail is left to chance, from the design of the invitation and even the thickness of the envelope to when a choice of canapés is offered to the arriving guests. Everyone is left guessing and trying to join the dots, because although the Prada handwriting is unmistakable, it is also unpredictable. the lighting, music and seating plan are all part of a phenomenal production that transports the audience of fashion editors and buyers into a new world, daring them to suspend their disbelief and expect the unexpected.
Old and new, traditional and innovative... everything is Prada's world is touched by compelling and thought provoking energy.
Prada uses every fashion show to convey the unique Prada experience to a select and influential audience. SS 2011 combined color, stripes and remarkable accessories-including striped fur stoles and shoes with three soles fused together as one-to produce a vibrant and summery show bursting with energy. The model's make-up harked back to the 1940s, with gelled, waved hair and silver eyeshadow.
The Prada Aesthetic
When Prada was founded, the focus was on delivering tradition and luxury to Milanese high society in an opulent setting. By he late 1970s, when Miuccia took over as creative director and joined forces with her husband and business partner Patrizio Bertelli, change was inevitable if the brand was so survive. So they set their sights higher and raised the bar, carting a new Prada hallmark that had remained with the company through every stage of its development. The new methods bound together an existing love of traditional values in an environment befitting the label's modern approach. Luxury and perfection coupled with a new avant-garde vision of the future found its expression in Prada's form of minimalism and was to become the brand's DNA.
This philosophy is reflected in all aspects of the business. This approach Prada has created a modern image of luxury that has pushed the boundaries and become unconventionally fashionable.
Prada's focus has been firmly on simplicity and clean lines to create beautiful yet wearable's clothes.
Voluminous, belted coat in nylon techno fabric. AW 1990 modeled by Hel
The Minimalist Collections
One could argue that Prada's strength lies in its understand, quiet approach to fashion. This clothes are sexy and confident, but in a sophisticated and almost demure manner. Fashion reinvents itself constantly, just like art, reacting against previous trends and drawing on socioeconomic influences. It was not surprising then that after the 1980s, a decade of excess bursting with shoulder pads, neon colors, loud branding and logos, Miyccia's designs expressed a desire for simplicity, which was shared by designers such as Helmut Lang and Jil Sander. This new minimalism became Prada's trademark look and was welcomed with open arms.
To the untrained eye, the purist approach seemed almost too basic to work, but on closer inspection there was always a subtle, experimental twist. This may have escaped a large number of onlookers, but for those in the know who appreciated and understood such subtleties, it added strength and value to the brand.
Prada's fluid lines and contemporary shapes provided a temple that allowed Miuccia to work conceptually, giving her room to experiment with textures, fabrics, prints and colors. Her approach to design is a process whereby she surrounds herself with experts who can interpret her visionary ideas and bring them to life.
AW 1993
A military influence is apparent in this high-neck, streamlined black ensemble for AW 1993, decorated only with tightly-polished buttons and belt buckle. With a restricted colour palette and an emphasis on fabric rather than pattern or embellishment, Prada spearheaded the minimalist movement.
SS 1997 was feminine with 1950s influences.
The SS 1997 collection was feminine with 1950s influences. The cardigan, seen here in two shades of blue and worn as part of a twinset, would become a staple Prada piece that is both practical and elegant. The camel dress is simple in its shape, with a full skirt that adds fluidity to the garment as it moves.
Layering classic garments with accents of texture creates a modern, timeless and elegant look. In a subdued colour range of grey, black and white, this collection captures the mood of the early 1990s with its relaxed, simple and effortless beauty.
Conceptual Collections
Another key ingredient in Prada's anthology is the conceptual aspect of the work, which reflects Miuccia's love of ideas and ability and unusual concepts, such as see-through outerwear(AW 2002), which are often fused with historical references. One of the most striking displays of intellectual expression is the autumn and winter 2004 collection, a unique show with Prada's ethos written all over it. Anchored in elegance, It combined references inspired by nineteenth century paintings from the German artist Caspar David Froedrich, with video-game graphics.
Miuccia spent hours watching video games to capture the mood of the virtual world and successfully turned this concept into wearable clothes; T-shirt with robot appliqué were worn with full skirts; coat and skirts were made from computer-generated printed fabric; and classic bags were accessorized with robot key-chains made from industrial components.
In keeping with essence of her signature elegance, the show brought together high and popular culture in a journey through the ages.
AW 2002 raincoat becomes opaque when wet
AW 2004
AW 2004 this was good example of past and present coming together as one
A Prada store art installation in Texas
1. Variety among stores "Shops should not be identical".
2."Space is a marketing tool". A brand can convey a sense of exclusivity "by the perception of its store in the host city".
3."60 % of a business identity remains constant while 40% changes continually."
4. Maintaining the intimacy of a small company.
5. Non-comercial The introduction of noncommercial typologies. "Cultural events could be hosted in stores." "Activities other than shopping could take place after store hours".
Art and Design
One might say Miuccia Prada's attitude to fashion and her way of using clothes as a form of expression makes her an artist, but the relationship between art and fashion don't end there. The name Prada has also come to stand for a strong involvement in, and promotion of, contemporary and avant-garde art. That interest is also seen in the meticulous attention Prada pays to designing their shopping environments.
Following their passion for art, Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli set up anon-profit foundation called Prada Milano Arte in 1993. It was located in Via Spartan 8, an old industrial building that would provide a space for exhibitions exciting contemporary sculpture.
The first artists to show were Eliseo Mattiacci, Nino Franchina joined the team, and the Foundation was restricted and renamed Fondazione Prada. It is cultural menu expanded to include projects involving photography art, cinema, design, and architecture. The first shows to be sponsored by the new foundation featured the works of Anish Kapoor, Michael Heizer,Louise Bourgeois, Dan Flavin and Walter De Maria. Over time, the foundation has supported a wealth of diverse artists, from Marc Quinn and Sam Taylor-Wood to actor Steve McQueen. With astonishing energy, it has developed and grown, hosting major exhibitions and projects of contemporary art.
In 2008, Prada and Bertelli commissioned the OMA-the think tank of the office for Metropolitan Architecture-to create a permanent "home" for their art in an early industrial site south of Milan, that included buildings that dated back to 1910. Set for completion in 2013, the new headquarters and are yet another living example of the Prada ethos of fusing old and new perfect harmony. Modern and , no doubt, ground-breaking construction, including a 10-storey museum tower, will coexist with seven existing restored structures, among them laboratories, brewing silos, warehouses and a large courtyard. This new space will be used as a complex to accommodate a series of diverse disciplines ranging from cinema and philosophy to design, fashion and performance art. It will also house works from the permanent collection as well as Prada's archives and those of its Lune Rossa team.
In May 2011, the Fondazione found a new space to showcase its art, this time in Venice's Ca' Corner della Regina-a magnificent baroque palazzo on the Grand Canal, built in 1724 by architect Domenico Rossi. At the time of writing, the palace is being restored by the Fonazione and features a semipermanent exhibition of works from its collection, including pieces by Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst and Louise Bourgeois.
Although it is important to note that fashion and art are kept very separate in the Prada empire, there is course a strong common denominator to connect them, creating an almost symbiotic relationship; Miuccia Prada herself. Inevitably, both areas references each other as well as outside influences. The results are often visible on t he catwalk. Sometimes they are literal, other times presented with a touch of irony, but always part of an ongoing search; challenging, exploring and deconstructing our preconceptions of beauty, Prada's unusual even "ugly" at times-color combinations, interesting textures used out of context, uncomfortable or unusual themes, are al elements that provoke a reaction and make us consider our aesthetic comfort zone".
Variety can be amplified through typological richness and invention.
Museums, library, airport, hospital, school are become increasingly indistinguishable from shopping. Their adoption of retail for survival has unleashed an enormous wave of commercial entrapment that has transformed museumgoers, researchers, travelers, patients, and students into customers.
The result is a deadening loss of variety. What were once distinct activities no longer retain the uniqueness that gave them richness.
What if the strategy were to reverse the equation, so that customers were no longer identified as consumers, but recognized as researchers, students, patients, museum goers?
What if the shopping experience were not one of impoverishment, but of enrichment?
What if the typologies were reversed, so that the store functioned as a ....
1. Galleria for discovering lost stability and tradition
The introduction of selected features from the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II store to associate epicenters with classic Prada qualities.
2. Street (Entrances to Prada departments)
For keeping a space open when all others are occupied..To eventually return the public back to the public.
A public area for "other" activities-where customers can visit Prada without the obligation to buy.
3. Stage
For capturing the excitement of the runway shows... An area which incorporates visitors in an intensified display.
Andreas Gursky Prada I 1996
What is "Luxury"
In a world where everything is shopping and shopping is everything...
What is Luxury?
Luxury is NOT shopping.
Luxury= Attention "Rough" Intelligence "Waste" Stability
Luxury is Attention
As the noise level increases (ex. Times Square), the demands on our nervous systems-to differentiate, to decide, to shop accelerate.
The ultimate luxury is focus and clarity. Museums are popular, not for their content, but for their lack of content; you go, you look, you leave. No decisions, no pressure.
Our ambitions is to capture attention and the, once we have it, to hand it back to the consumer.
Luxury is Rough\The Smooth and the "Rough"
If everywhere is smooth, art becomes that which maintains a quality of roughness.
Common is smooth, unique is rough.
Recorded is smooth, live is rough.
Commercial is smooth, art is rough.
Typical is smooth, invention si rough.
In the future, luxury must be rough.
Luxury is Inteligence.
As the brand expands, the danger is that we capitalize on the Prada name by applying it to products without improving them-taking without giving in return.
Applying intelligence to an object-intelligent choice that reflected the values of the designer- is the only way to pull ahead of the general onslaught of quality in manufacturing. Intelligence is an altruistic gesture of adding value to an object (So that the followers have something new to copy?).
Intelligence often takes the form of innovation-improving things but doesn't need to. It can also mean making good decisions about what should be saved, and what would be made obsolete. There is no generosity without intelligence. And luxury is generosity.
Luxury is Waste.
In a real estate context where every square meter counts, the ultimate luxury is wasted space. Space that is not "productive" not shopping-affords contemplation, privacy, mobility, and luxury,
Luxury is stability
Massive change makes stability exciting.
In order to incorporate stability into a system of continuous innovation (fashion), adopt a model of dynamic equilibrium. maximizing both dimensions to realize paradoxical ambitions. The more stable the brand, the more you change.