Prada: From Leather Goods to the World of Fashion

Anybody with a keen sense of fashion will definitely know Prada as it is considered to be one of the premier fashion brands in the world today. With over 250,000 locations around the world, even non-fashion enthusiasts will have heard of the brand.

However, when brothers Mario and Martino Prada established the store in Milan, Italy, in 1913, the only products they sold were leather goods and some trunks and handbags imported from England. An interesting fact about how the company was run during those times was that Mario did not believe in the role of women in running a business. As such, none of the female members of the family were allowed to have any role in the business.

Unfortunately, Mario’s sons had no interest in running their store and it was left to his daughter Luisa, upon his retirement. Luisa was at the helm of Prada until her retirement in 1978, when her daughter Miuccia succeeded her.

In 1977, 17 year old Patricio Bertelli had started his own leather goods store. However, he would soon be joining Prada and be giving business advice to Miuccia. One of these would be to stop importing leather goods from England and to design and develop their own line of luggage.

With the help of Bertelli, Miuccia began designing her own bags and leather goods and these became an instant hit. It wasn’t until 1985 when Prada became known of their unique handbags, and their first release took the world of fashion by storm. Their first line of handbags where in fact, an overnight sensation.

The success of Prada in the global fashion scene was amazing. During the late 1990’s the company even made a shot at owning Gucci by purchasing a 9.5% interest. However, this was short lived and the interests were sold not long after.