Prada ‘Galleria’ bag unites the house’s past and present – now in colourful new iterations
Inspired by Milan’s famed shopping arcade, the Prada ‘Galleria’ was launched in 2007. For A/W 2023, colourful new versions are inspired by artist Alex Da Corte, who teamed up with the brand for a pop art-inspired campaign
The grand, domed interior of Milan’s 19th-century shopping arcade Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II has long provided the spiritual home of Italian fashion house Prada, where eponymous founder Mario Prada opened his first store in 1913. Over a century on, in 2007, Miuccia Prada – Mario’s youngest granddaughter and current co-creative director alongside Raf Simons – introduced the ‘Galleria’ handbag, a ladylike ode to the arcade crafted from the house’s signature wax-treated saffiano leather. Deemed by the house a ‘neo-classic’ for its pared-back design with nods to vintage medicine bags from the 1950s, it has since become one of Prada’s most recognisable exports – endlessly riffed upon in a panoply of sizes, colours and textures.
For A/W 2023, an array of colourful new styles have been introduced, reflecting the work of Venezuelan-American contemporary artist Alex Da Corte, who imagined the accompanying campaign starring Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson.
In it, she traverses a colour-soaked terrain, featuring graphic moments of pop art-inspired hues and geometric motifs which are reflected on the bags themselves. In dual-colour designs or featuring chevrons, squares or curves of contrasting shades, the collectable special-edition designs add to the ‘Galleria’s ever-expanding catalogue of iterations, each one completed with the Prada triangle – a leitmotif of the house since its founding, melding past and present as one.
Watch the film below.
A version of this article appears in the October 2023 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, on sale now available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Jack Moss is the Fashion Features Editor at Wallpaper*, joining the team in 2022. Having previously been the digital features editor at AnOther and digital editor at 10 and 10 Men magazines, he has also contributed to titles including i-D, Dazed, 10 Magazine, Mr Porter’s The Journal and more, while also featuring in Dazed: 32 Years Confused: The Covers, published by Rizzoli. He is particularly interested in the moments when fashion intersects with other creative disciplines – notably art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and reporting from international fashion weeks. Across his career, he has interviewed the fashion industry’s leading figures, including Rick Owens, Pieter Mulier, Jonathan Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner, Christian Lacroix, Kate Moss and Manolo Blahnik.
-
Los Angeles’ best fine-dining restaurants
LA boasts a creative food scene driven by some of the world’s most innovative chefs. Browse the Wallpaper* guide to the city’s best fine-dining restaurants
By Kevin EG Perry Published
-
First look at Maison 3, an eclectic new Parisian bar for sleepless nights
Maison 3 is an enigmatic space with a sensual atmosphere brought to life by the French studio Les Beaux Jours Architectures
By Fabienne Dupuis Published
-
Chanel heads to Hangzhou, China for a poetic Métiers d’Art 2025 show
This evening in China (3 December 2024), Chanel travelled to Hangzhou’s much-mythologised West Lake, a Unesco World Heritage site, for a show that highlighted the extraordinary craft of the house’s artisans
By Jack Moss Published
-
Why the slipper is set to be this season’s definitive men’s shoe
Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss unpacks the rise of the men’s slipper, which looks set to become this season’s most ubiquitous shoe. Plus, five styles to channel the slipper’s louche elegance in your own wardrobe
By Jack Moss Published
-
The Wallpaper* S/S 2025 trend report: ‘A rejection of the derivative and the expected’
Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss unpacks five trends and takeaways from the S/S 2025 shows, which paid ode to individual style and transformed the everyday
By Jack Moss Published
-
Sourcewhere is the app helping you find the rarest fashion grails
Sourcewhere uses a network of experts and personal shoppers to source rare vintage and limited-edition fashion, from Phoebe Philo’s Céline to Margiela-era Hermès. Here, founder Erica Wright tells Wallpaper* why it’s reflecting a wider change in the way people shop luxury fashion
By Mary Cleary Published
-
In fashion: the defining looks and trends of the A/W 2024 collections
We highlight the standout moments of the A/W 2024 season, from scrunched-up gloves and seductive leather ties to cocooning balaclavas and decadent feathers
By Jack Moss Published
-
Women’s Fashion Week S/S 2025: what to expect
Next week sees the arrival of Women’s Fashion Week S/S 2025, with stops in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Here, our comprehensive guide to the month, from Alaïa’s arrival in New York to Alessandro Michele’s Valentino debut
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
‘Things are not what they seem’: Unpacking the S/S 2025 menswear shows
Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss explores the trends and takeaways from this season’s menswear shows, from an embrace of ‘irrational clothing’ to couture-level craft and eclectic new takes on tailoring
By Jack Moss Published
-
Revisiting the showstopping runway sets of men’s fashion week
As Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2025 draws to a close, Wallpaper* picks the season’s most transporting runway sets, from giant cats at Dior Men to a ‘fairytale ravescape’ at Prada
By Jack Moss Published
-
‘Prada Archive 1998-2002’ documents the campaigns that changed fashion
New book ‘Prada Archive: 1998-2002’ features the photography of Norbert Schoerner, who captured some of the brand’s most memorable (and most-referenced) campaigns. Here, the image-maker tells Wallpaper* the story behind the book
By Zoe Whitfield Published