Book: Prada

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A spiraling seating arrangement
A spiraling seating arrangement and circumventing orange screen defines the space at the Fondazione Prada for a catwalk show, chapter 3.01, p.150
(Image credit: Phil Meech)

This month Prada have launched a tome that documents, comprehensively collates and celebrates the brand’s expansive array of projects – from the brand’s relatively modest Milan-based beginnings through to the major, international, cross-disciplinary projects of recent years.

Spanning an impressive 708 pages, the opulent, double-bound book – which comes coated in a version of Prada’s signature Saffiano leather - documents the span of the brand’s creative undertakings - ranging from the clothes, shoes and bags upon which Prada has made its name, through to the architecture, artistic patronage, curation and industrial design of recent years.

Opening with a brief, foldout history of the brand, the book is divided into two sections. Documenting in detail the fundamental endeavours which take place behind closed doors at Prada HQ – from pattern cutting to architectural planning - the ‘Inside’ section features an intricate photographic essay from longtime Prada collaborator, Brigitte Lacombe.

The second section titled ‘Outside’ chronicles in greater detail the span of Prada’s extra-curricular creative projects: from last year’s Double Club with Carsten Holler and the groundbreaking transformer project in Seoul, through to the recently renovated Prada Fondazione’s philanthropic exhibitions and a filmic collaboration with renowned director Ridley Scott.

It is the creative collaborations highlighted in the book, which offer the most incisive insight into Prada’s approach to cross-disciplinary commingling. With longtime creative partners including Rem Koolhaas and OMA, Herzog & de Meuron and every fashion editor worth his and her salt – alongside a presence in every corner of the globe - Prada’s new bible is a sumptuous, printed affirmation of the brand's inimitable creative status.

Launched with suitably well-appointed flair in Milan earlier this month, the book was sent out into London last night at the Bond Street store - alongside events staged at the OMA-designed Prada epicenters in Tokyo, Los Angeles and New York.

Plans for the Fondazione Prada

Plans for the Fondazione Prada, which is bi-annually transformed for Prada's seasonal outings, chapter 3.01, p.143

(Image credit: press)

Design model

Designed by Rem Koolhaas and his OMA thinktank, the show plans become more and more elaborate with each passing year, chapter 3.01, p.155

(Image credit: Marco Beck Peccoz)

A floral theme dominates at one of the Fondazione shows

A floral theme dominates at one of the Fondazione shows chapter 3.01, p.146

(Image credit: image courtesy OMA/AMO)

A series of bags from previous Prada collections

A series of bags from previous Prada collections, chapter 4.04

(Image credit: Antonio Calabrese)

Leathers and skins dominate in this accessories display

Leathers and skins dominate in this accessories display, chapter 4.04, P.246-7

(Image credit: Antonio Calabrese)

Prada bags

Prada bags, chapter 4.04, P.242-3

(Image credit: Antonio Calabrese)

A double-page display of Prada’s distinctive green store interiors

A double-page display of Prada’s distinctive green store interiors chapter 5.01, P.410-11

(Image credit: press)

An interior shot of the OMA-designed New York Epicentre

An interior shot of the OMA-designed New York Epicentre, chapter 5.05, p.432-3

(Image credit: image courtesy OMA/AMO)

The ramp at the New York Epicentre

The ramp at the New York Epicentre, chapter 5.05, p.440-1

(Image credit: image courtesy OMA/AMO)

Caged mannequins take centre stage at the New York Epicentre

Caged mannequins take centre stage at the New York Epicentre, chapter 5.05, p.442-3

(Image credit: image courtesy OMA/AMO)

Wood and steel finishes in the Los Angeles Epicentre

Wood and steel finishes in the Los Angeles Epicentre, chapter 5.08, p.468-9

(Image credit: image courtesy OMA/AMO)

The glass and steel façade of the OMA-designed Tokyo Epicentre stands out from its urban surrounds

The glass and steel façade of the OMA-designed Tokyo Epicentre stands out from its urban surrounds, chapter 5.07, 462-3

(Image credit: image courtesy Nacasa & Partners)

A still from the collaborative film between Miuccia Prada and Ridley Scott, Thunder Perfect Mind

A still from the collaborative film between Miuccia Prada and Ridley Scott, Thunder Perfect Mind

(Image credit: press)

Miuccia Prada on the set of Thunder Perfect Mind

Miuccia Prada on the set of Thunder Perfect Mind, chapter 6.01, p.480-481

(Image credit: Brigitte Lacombe)

The Prada Transformer stands in marked contrast to the Gyeonghuigung Palace in Seoul

The Prada Transformer stands in marked contrast to the Gyeonghuigung Palace in Seoul, chapter 8.03, p.595

(Image credit: Sergio Pirrone)

A cinema takes residence within Rem Koolhaas's Prada Transformer earlier this year chapter

A cinema takes residence within Rem Koolhaas's Prada Transformer earlier this year chapter 8.03, p.600-1

(Image credit: press)

The circular surface of the multi-faceted transformer shines out into the Seoul night

The circular surface of the multi-faceted transformer shines out into the Seoul night, chapter 8.03, p.594

(Image credit: Juliane Eirich)

On Otto by Tobias Rehberger at the Fondazione Prada

On Otto by Tobias Rehberger at the Fondazione Prada, p.650-1

(Image credit: Wolfgang Gunzel)

The collaboration between Carsten Holler and Prada

The collaboration between Carsten Holler and Prada - the Double Club set up shop in North London for 6 months earlier this year, p.656-657

(Image credit: Attilio Maranzano)

The steadily increasing stack of publications from the Fondazione Prada

The steadily increasing stack of publications from the Fondazione Prada, p.669

(Image credit: press)

A rendering of the new and improved Fondazione Prada

A rendering of the new and improved Fondazione Prada, p.677-8

(Image credit: courtesy of Rem Koolhaas)
Jack Moss
Fashion & Beauty Features Director

Jack Moss is the Fashion & Beauty Features Director at Wallpaper*, having joined the team in 2022 as Fashion Features Editor. Previously the digital features editor at AnOther and digital editor at 10 Magazine, he has also contributed to numerous international publications and featured 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.