people in fashion that matter: miuccia prada

maria bianchi was born in milan in 1948. she graduated in political science from the university of milan and enrolled in the italian women's union club. at the age of 23, she joined the historic family business, designing accessories under the nickname "miuccia". she was definitely an eclectic and rebellious young woman who grew up to become an influential figure in the fashion industry.

maria bianchi, in vogue edit

miuccia has made a significant impact on the world of design and luxury — a word that she doesn’t like, “she likes the word useful; she dislikes the word luxury, which she finds vulgar” writes vogue.

prada is a visionary whose influence extends far beyond the runway! “if harvard was a billionaire woman, it would be miuccia prada” says the italian artist francesco vezzoli, her close friend.

miuccia prada, the youngest granddaughter of mario prada turned her family's small leather goods business into one of the leading forces in fashion. currently, prada serves as the main brand for the publicly traded prada group, which also owns the shoe brands church's and car shoe in addition to miu miu, a brand created in the early ‘90s with a parisian style. I must say, miuccia is an extraordinarily successful fashion designer.

maria bianchi, in vogue edit

in an interview with vogue, she says, "when I was young, I always wanted to be different”. she was deeply involved in the 1960s activist movement, but she had always had a passion for fashion; at protests, she notably wore yves saint laurent, even though everyone else was wearing jeans.

her first collection, a perfect example of the prada aesthetic, included features and shapes that referenced to military uniforms, bold colors paired with neutrals, a knee-length skirt that would quickly become iconic, and straight-cut, masculine pants and clumpy, rubber-soled loafers. prada was a pioneer since day one. she was against the “boom” of versace, dolce & gabbana and armani. "I try to respect women. I usually avoid wearing supersexy, biased dresses. I strive to be innovative in a way that is wearable and practical.”

throughout a significant portion of her career, prada has succeeded by taking bold, somewhat unconventional, and even risky steps. did you know that following the events of september 11, 2001, when other luxury brands were cutting back on spending and leaving downtownm manhattan, prada made a bold move by opening a $50 million flagship store in soho's former guggenheim building? an amazing gestor, I must say.

maria bianchi, in vogue edit

well... it's actually hard to write about these incredible "people in fashion that matter" since there are so many names and interesting historical figures. nevertheless, the name miuccia prada will always be historic and a symbol of an avant-garde style in fashion.

sofia torres is the digital media designer at CINCO. born in '97, she believes her strong passion for what she does enables her to create meaningful work. her educational background includes a master in multimedia design at the university of coimbra. since day one, she's loving working at CINCO.