Inside the Brand: Prada

The black waterproof backpack was Miuccia Prada’s first real offering to the brand when she took over in 1978, and what a way it was to kick off her career. The backpack became her first big commercial hit, spawning hundreds of copycats and a worldwide trend for a more streetwise approach to accessories.

Fashion students will be studying the Prada SS99 catwalk show for years to come, and the most memorable piece from the extraordinary collection was an evening dress made of hundreds of broken mirrors. Prada contrasted soft and hard elements in a sporty, everyday-wearable way. It was unpretentious high fashion, the Italian fashion house’s signature.

Reviving a look that we thought had died with WWII, Prada made covering your hair with jewel-toned turbans fashionable once more in 2007. Showing how much clout the brand has, other labels including Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan and Marc Jacobs soon followed suit, creating a wonderful get-out clause for all women having a bad hair day.

The fruity print proved a major hit with the fashion crowd in 2011, with even Anna Wintour swapping her tasteful florals for bananas—a previously comical fruit that suddenly got a major style injection thanks to Prada’s collection of well-cut yellow-and-black skirts.

The 2012 flaming stiletto revved up the engines of any women with a shoe obsession. With shades of ‘Greased Lighting’, these flamboyant, eccentric stilettos won the hearts of celebrities and fashionistas alike with their tongue-in-cheek humour and leg-lengthening design.