PRADA has released its first book, recapping 30 years of being at the vanguard of fashion, architecture, cinema and retail.
Conceived and edited by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, the navy blue hardback, titled simply "Prada," comes in a matching slipcase, embossed with the house's roped and crest logo. The 708-page tome, priced at 100 euros, (148 U.S. dollars), is being rolled out to Prada stores worldwide, to select bookstores and on prada.com.
"For Prada, fashion, luxury and style go beyond producing an infinity of clothes and shoes, so the book wants to illustrate the various aspects through which Prada expresses itself," said Bertelli, chief executive of Prada Group.
Roughly divided in two parts, called "Inside" and "Outside," the book begins by retracing the company's history and includes a photo essay by photographer and longtime collaborator Brigitte Lacombe, who also documents the elaborate manufacturing process behind a product.
Miuccia Prada's creativity is portrayed in many ways, including a collage featuring 3,885 thumbnail images of her most directional shoes and bags.
This chapter also dips into the design studio's creative culture. "I think we work extremely hard and our method is unusual because I don't design, but I think of a concept and then develop it with my collaborators," said Miuccia Prada at the launch.
Typically shunning the limelight, the designer was clad in a steel gray, laser cut skirt suit and black and Plexiglas sandals.
Part two of the tome showcases the brand's activities in architecture, events, parties, exhibitions, the red carpet and the America's Cup.
The last section is dedicated to the Fondazione Prada and ends with the Rem Koolhaas-designed museum being erected in Milan. Bertelli is also considering Shanghai as a potential location for the next Prada Epicenter.
