Early life and education

Born Maria Bianchi on May 10, 1949 in Milan, Italy, she took the name Miuccia Prada in the 1980s, after being adopted by an aunt. Her parents were Luigi Bianchi and his wife, Luisa Prada. She has two older siblings, Albert and Marina. She attended Liceo Classico Berchet high school in Milan and graduated with a PhD in political science at the University of Milan.

Early career

She trained at the Teatro Piccolo to become a mime and performed for five years. She was a member of the Italian Communist Party and involved in the women’s rights movement during the seventies in Milan. In 1978 she entered into her family’s business of manufacturing luxury leather bags, a company established by her grandfather in 1913. Around the same time she met her future husband and business partner, Patrizio Bertelli.

Career

Prada's first successful handbag design was in 1985. It was a line of black, finely-woven nylon handbags. By 1989, she designed and introduced her first women’s ready-to-wear collection. In 1995 she launched her first menswear line. The Miu Miu line was introduced in 1992 as a less expensive womenswear line inspired by her personal wardrobe. She named it after her own nickname, Miu Miu.

In 1993 she was awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America International Award. The following year she showed her collections in both New York and London fashion weeks. She had already been exhibiting at Milan fashion week. Bertelli, Prada's husband, is responsible for the commercial side of products and Prada’s retail strategy. The design house has grown into a conglomerate that includes labels such as Fendi, Helmut Lang, Jil Sander, and Azzedine Alaia. The company has expanded into leather goods, shoes, fragrances, and apparel for both men and women.

She is now the co-CEO for Prada, together with her husband.

Business philosophy

She eschews merging high art with fashion, saying "Art is for expressing ideas and for expressing a vision. My job is to sell."

Awards and honors

On 2 December 2013, she was awarded the first International Designer of the Year at the 2013 British Fashion Awards at the London Coliseum. As of 2014, she is listed as the 75th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.

Tax evasion

In 2014, the Prada company was investigated for tax evasion. Miuccia Prada, Patrizio Bertelli, chief executive officer of Prada, and Marco Salomoni, accountant for the company, were named in the investigation. The Prada company claimed that they misinterpreted tax policies in Italy. In response, the Prada company agreed to relocate offices in the Netherlands and Luxembourg to Italy in order to avoid any tax problems.

Personal life

Miuccia Prada married a businessman named Patrizio Bertelli. Their two sons were born in 1988 and 1990 respectively.

She is a collector of contemporary art and owns several artworks by Young British Artists. She is personal friends with artist Cindy Sherman.

Charities

Miuccia Prada supports the following charitable cause: Arts Education.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]