Prada’s new permanent Milan exhibition “Pradasphere,” anchored in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, is fully booked into the new year and the company says it will add €100 million in annual revenues.
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Prada has opened “Pradasphere,” a new permanent, highly visual fashion exhibition in Milan designed to showcase more than a century of the Italian luxury brand’s history. The exhibition is set in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele shopping arcade, where Prada’s presence spans eight floors and includes the Marchesi 1824 pastry shop and the Osservatorio Fondazione Prada contemporary art space alongside the new exhibition and related spaces.
Prada Group chief marketing officer Lorenzo Bertelli said the exhibition is intended to increase brand engagement beyond nostalgia. He described “The exhibition is a multiplier,” adding that Prada projects that anchoring the expansion in the Galleria will add 100 million euros (about $111 million) in annual revenues, with a possibility the target could be surpassed.
Bertelli said “Pradasphere” is fully booked into the new year and that visitors often spend more after immersing themselves in the brand’s history, sometimes returning for an additional purchase after completing the eight-space exhibition. He also said customers who go through the museum show “a completely different perspective of the brand” and browse the store “with completely different minds.”
The exhibition highlights key eras of Prada’s evolution, including early founders Mario and Martino Prada, who established Fratelli Prada in 1913 in the historic Galleria. It also displays luxury bags and accessories, including a pleated evening bag with a devilish head-shaped clasp inspired by details that appeared on the Spring-Summer 2024 runway, and it notes that the brothers designed the brand’s inverted triangle logo.
“Pradasphere” also features designs associated with Miuccia Prada, including trademark nylon bags she began designing in the 1970s and a chocolate brown opera coat from her first runway collection in 1988. The exhibit includes runway items such as the 2012 Flame heels and Formica tile prints tied to Prada’s “ugly chic” reputation, while also presenting the family’s influence in areas including art, architecture, film and sport.
The exhibit ends with a prototype space suit tied to Prada’s collaboration with Axiom Space. Bertelli said the suit’s development reflects investments made with the formation of the Luna Rossa America’s Cup sailing team in the 1990s, which helped build materials expertise, and he said Prada helped design the suit’s outer layer to withstand extreme thermal conditions and the inner layer focused on thermal regulation and comfort.
According to the exhibition material, the space suit is intended for astronauts walking on the moon on NASA’s Artemis IV mission, which is targeted for 2028. Bertelli also said access to “Pradasphere” is limited to 20 visitors admitted by appointment each hour, with the company saying the compact eight-room exhibition will be in constant evolution.
Most visitors finish through a secret underground passage connecting the men’s and women’s boutiques, with the women’s section occupying the original Fratelli Prada premises. The passage includes “lesser-known” chapters from Prada’s history, including a chandelier dress created for Baz Luhrmann’s film adaptation of “The Great Gatsby.”
Architect Luca Missio, from Udine in northeastern Italy, said he recognized the stores he has visited around the world, including in Tokyo and New York, and also recognized designs and displays at the exhibition. His comments came after exploring the spaces inside “Pradasphere.”
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