Founder and designer of the homonymous clothing brand. Brunello Cucinelli was born in Castiglione (Perugia) in 1953. In 1972 he became a surveyor and enrolled in the faculty of engineering, which he left shortly thereafter. Starting in 1978 he began his career as an entrepreneur and proposed his distinctive character, the colored cashmere.
Brunello Cucinelli Cashmere
In 1982 he married Federica Benda, with whom he had two daughters, and moved to Solomeo, where he gave life to his company. In 1987 he inaugurated his new company headquarters in the fourteenth-century castle of the village.
Brunello Cucinelli Foundation
Foro Delle Arti
Instinctively brought to the knowledge, he devoted himself to humanistic studies (especially to philosophy) and began an activity of recovery and redevelopment of the ancient country, creating spaces dedicated to meeting and culture. The site chosen for the renovation project is the architectural and landscape complex of the Foro delle Arti, where under the aegis of the Brunello Cucinelli Foundation, a theater, an amphitheater and a Neo-nationalist academy are created, with a precious library inside.
Awards
2011 Campaign
At the same time he led his company to the most important successes, inspired by the great ideals of man: ethics, dignity and morals. From the beginning of 2000 his entrepreneurial and humanistic work is celebrated by a series of prestigious national and international awards. This includes: the Presidency of the Teatro Stabile dell’Umbria, Ernst and Young Award as an Italian entrepreneur of the year (2009), Prize Leonardo Qualità Italia (2010), delivered to the Quirinale by the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, Cavalierato of the Italian Republic and Honoris Causa degree in Philosophy and Ethics of Human Relations conferred by the University of Perugia. In 2011 Brunello Cucinelli, was recognized worldwide as one of the most important brands in the luxury sector. The brand is present with several cashmere collections in more than 1000 multi-brand stores, 50 single-brand stores and numerous “shop in shops” spread throughout the various high department stores of the world.
From Mario Prada’s gallery shop to today’s world-class Miuccia luxury made-to-order Italian fashion group. Read the story and anecdotes of the Prada brand.
The origins of Prada begin in 1913 when Mario Prada, Milanese luxury craftsman, opened a shop at Galleria Vittorio II in Milan.
Prada is innovative in the field of travel goods, accessories, and luxury goods. The branded uses refined materials, high quality craftsmanship and state of the art design for its products. The brand has quickly become a point of reference for leather accessories and items precious from all over the world.
Thanks to the quality of its creations, Prada meets the demand of the most demanding, experienced clients of the international market, and of high society. In 1919 Mario became an official supplier of the Real Casa d’Italia, obtaining the right to include the coat of arms and the Sabaudi knots in his own brand. (Source: “Prada”, edition 2009, Prada Arte project).
On the other hand, Mario Prada ideas made it clear, his goal was to:
“Collapse the shortage of objects that participated in the adventure of stylism, but with detachment; They were fashionable, and unable to go fashionable in the course of a season.”
Miuccia: The Rebellious and Ingenious
Portrait of Miuccia Prada
Mario’s granddaughter, Miuccia Prada, is an ex-jury of the good bourgeoisie, a sixty-year-old passionate about theater and mime, enrolled at the Small Theater School and the Udi (Union of Italian Women) of the Communist Party.
In 1978 Miucca became part of the family business. Together with her partner and husband, Patrizio Bertelli, they transformed the brand into a world-class luxury goods Made in Italy business. After Miucca took over, the brand begins to compete with Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermès, Gucci.
The company becomes highly industrial, and at the end of 1997 Prada can rely on:
8 establishments with 1184 direct employees;
119 single-store shops, of which 94 are directly controlled;
A total turnover of 1,147,202 billion lire.
The stages of this ascent to the top of international fashion are marked by Miuccia’s creative intuitions and Patrizio Bertelli’s clever business strategies and communication.
The Eighties: Nylon and American Success
Prada Nylon Shopping Bag 1978 By: Albert Watson
In the early 1980s, Nylon handbags arrived in a patented material, Pocono, originally used for military parachutes. Bags are identified by the iconic logo: an inverted metal triangle inspired by the closure of Mario Prada’s trunks, which soon become objects of worship. In 1979 the first shoe collection was launched.
In 1983 he opened the first Green Store in Milan, designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi. It is characterized by a particular shade of light green that will soon be recognized worldwide as Green Prada. From this moment on, Prada opens a network of Green Stores all over the world, the color remaining so unique. (Source: “Prada“, edition 2009, Prada Arte project).
In 1988 the big jump in women’s clothing took place. The decade of the most spectacular hedonism and consumerism of the century. Opposed to “minimalism”, Prada’s fashion is actually the conceptual elaboration and aesthetic disorder of our time, but without any abstraction.
The return to Milan
Prada is Miucca, a bourgeois and schismatic girl who has become a character, with her stage in New York. She turns naked legs even at 10 degrees below zero, wears woolen socks with sandals, and wears a second-long chiffon skirt over rough tweed, which invented her wind-jacketed jackets.
Only after becoming a “case” in the United States and the Anglo-Saxon press, the Prada-Bertelli reported collections on the Milanese catwalks. The Italian journalists who, before the American trip, left empty whole files of the fashion shows in Melzi d’Eril , are left outside the door of the new Via Maffei.
There is a scandal in print, with accusations of censorship. But, the name Prada becomes popular far beyond the fashion world. Also, because the couple follows the common passion for contemporary art, and become collectors to patrons.
The Nineties: The Foundation and the Big Acquisitions
1993: Prada Foundation was founded, followed by the first exhibitions: Eliseo Mattiacci and Nino Franchina. In the same year the Men’s line and Miu Miu, the independent brand created specifically for Miuccia, were created.
1995: The Prada Foundation, a Milan art space, hosts artists such as Anish Kapoor, Michael Heizer, Louise Bourgeois, Dan Flavin, Laurie Anderson, Sam Taylor Wood, Mariko Mori.
1997: Patricia Bertelli, a sailor expert, decides to sponsor and take part in the 2000 America’s Cup in New Zealand.
The choice is to support the new line Prada Sport, a research laboratory for new materials, forms, and behaviors.
June 1998: Prada becomes an important shareholder of Gucci, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange. However, in January 1999, with 34.4% of Gucci by the French group, LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), Prada surrenders its shares to Bernard Arnault. In six months the brand achieved a surplus of 192 billion Lire to invest in the increasingly international brand development.
In the following years:
The purchase of the majority of Helmut Lang;
Participation in De Rigo (glasses);
A minority stake in Church’s, English shoes;
Then the big hit, the purchase of Jil Sander (75 percent of ordinary shares and 15 of those listed on the Stock Exchange);
Finally the winning public offering of the Church’s majority and the alliance with Bernard Arnault and his Lunch for the holding of the Fendi brand. It is the end of August 1999.
The Epicenter Project.
In 1999, the brand inaugurated a unique project in collaboration with AMO, the think-tank of Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and the architect Rem Koolhaas. Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli entrust AMO with the task of analyzing world shopping trends, conceptualizing new products and applying their findings to new types of stores. Thus, the project of three Epicenter projects, designed outside the type of Green Store, is designed to become a true experimental laboratory.
Strong with an identity that transcends the simple brand, the company continues to affirm its originality in new and unexpected ways. He is among the first to collaborate with visionary architects such as Rem Koolhaas and Herzog & de Meuron, winners of the prestigious Pritzker Prize. The Epicenter of New York, Tokyo and Los Angeles, so different from the classic concept of the store, are the result of A careful analysis of the dynamics of the market in contemporary society and of revolutionary architectural innovation. In these boutiques are exposed luxury goods that are the result of extraordinary technology and design, alongside a multitude of exclusive activities and events. (Source: “Prada”, edition 2009, Prada Arte project)
From 2000 to 2005
A New Venue for Collections
At the beginning of the year, the company is recognized by Interbrand among the 100 most important brands in the world. Starting in 2000, Prada presents its collections in Fogazzaro Street, Milan, in a former industrial establishment. The building, renovated for this purpose, is constantly being reconfigured, giving rise to new architectural environments. In order to enhance the concept of collections, in fact, unique movies, videos and sound settings are projected. (Source: “Prada“, 2009 edition, Prada Arte project)
A joint venture with LVMH, called Lvp Holding Bv, is formed in July for the acquisition of 51% of Fendi’s ordinary shares. In October, the acquisition of 100% of Azzedine Alaia’s shares will take place. The Eyewear and Beauty collections debut.
The 2000 Budget
Consolidated sales grew 56.6% compared to 1999. Gross margin increased by 49.8%. Net income was down 184 billion lire (-42.7%). However, the 1999 figure is influenced by the gain on the sale of Gucci shares to the LVMH, net of which the profits would be 134 billion.
The debt remains high, but it is not due to financial mismanagement, but from the many acquisitions carried out in 1999 and 2000: Church’s, Helmut Lang, Jil Sander, Fendi (joint venture with LVMH) and Azzedine Alaia. Significant ratio of net debt to net equity improved in 2000, thanks to Prada Holding’s capital increase of €260 million.
The budget of the Jil Sander House, which accounts for 10% of total turnover, showed a turnover of €134.8 million. The markets with the largest competitive presence is Germany and American. In Italy, the brand is present in Milan, with a showroom in Piazza Castello.
Acquisitions of 2001.
February: Acquisition of 70% Santacroce.
April: Acquisition of 51% of the company Car Shoe, a brand created and patented in 1962 by the Lombard artisan Gianni Mostile, shoe manufacturer for motorcycle enthusiasts. The value of the operation was not known.
July: Acquisition of 70% of Genny, a Marche company led by Donatella Girombelli. Rumors add up to $100 billion to $120 billion in sales, a figure that must be taken out of the high debt.
November: Agreement with LVMH for the sale of 50% of the Prada Group’s holding in Lvp Holding BV (holding Fendi’s shares owned by LVMH and Prada) for a value of €295 million. Prada and LVMH had purchased 51% of Fendi in 1999, paying $425 million. The figure serves to lower the indebtedness of the Italian Group.
The Epicenter of New York
After three years of research, Prada opens the first Epicenter in New York, at Broadway’s Guggenheim Museum SoHo. Rem Koolhaas and OMA create a scenic spectacular design of a wooden wave linking the ground floor to the bottom. With suspended and motorized hanger cages that move along a network of ceiling mounted rails, and a real stage that Gets out of the wave to host special events. The project has an immediate success and remains one of the most prominent contemporary Prada stores worldwide.
2001 Epicenter of New York
One of the most important features of the New York Center is the northern wall that extends for a whole block, reaching the length of sixty meters. From the earliest designs, OMA conceived the wall as a kind of canvas on which to apply temporary wallpaper. Prada and New York Design Studio 2 × 4 have created different wallpaper to produce ever-newer content. Almost at the same time as the opening of the New York Center, Prada started designing the second Epicenter, located in Tokyo, with the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. (Source: “Prada”, 2009 edition, Prada Arte project)
The long-awaited listing on the Milan Stock Exchange is postponed due to the unfavorable time. The multiple acquisitions made in recent years have exacerbated the debtor situation of the Group, which, in order to face it, is considering issuing. It paves the €700 million bond in favor of Prada. The demand from investors was five times higher than the availability. The €700 million will be used: 300 for capital increase and 400 for repayment of debts.
Financial situation in 2002
March: Debut in Moscow, in the central Tretyakov Passage, the first single-member in Russia. Group Partner is Mercury Distribution.
June: A joint venture was established with the Puig group for the creation and distribution of perfumes and cosmetics marked by the Prada brand. With the purchase of the remaining 25% of Jil Sander, Prada has total control of the German brand.
August:. The remaining 24.29% of Genny Spa is found. The Genny and Byblos brands, to which Ozium is added, are present in the high-end prêt-à-porter and in other product lines including leather goods, glasses, and perfumes through contracts License.
September: Fabio Zambernardi is the design director of the Prada and Miu Miu brands for clothing, footwear, and accessories lines. The limited edition GTS Chrono-Automatic IWC for Prada watch is launched.
Prada and Miu Miu’s direct sales outlets total 160. Group revenues amounted to €1.57 billion. The business volume has maintained a balanced geographical distribution: 26% Italy, 25% rest of Europe, 23% North America and 26% Japan and Asia-Pacific area. Historical brands Prada and Miu Miu contributed 83% of total revenues. Consolidated net income is €27 million.
Prada points to Japan: The Epicenter of Tokyo
March: An agreement was reached for the distribution of Prada glasses with the company Avante-Garde Optics (Luxottica Group) in the USA, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Bertelli announces Group plans for the year. Investments will fall from €130 million in 2002 to €100 million, and will be channeled mainly in the relaunch of younger brands.
Debut a new flagship store in the Ginza district of Tokyo. The third in the Land of the Levant. For the occasion, Prada has produced a Limited Edition Series (2000 copies) exclusively for the Japanese market.
The new Epicenter Prada debuted in Tokyo, designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. The six-story building, located in the Aoyama district, is one of the city’s most recognizable architectural works. The green glass façade protrudes from a diagonal grid that forms the structure, while it houses commercial areas, lounges and spaces for events. (Source: “Prada”, edition 2009, Prada Arte project).
2003 Debut of Prada Epicenter in Tokyo
July: A ten-year license agreement with Luxottica Group, a world leader in the optical industry, for the production and distribution of sunglasses and watches with the brands Prada and Miu Miu, begins. The deal contemplates the acquisition by Luxottica of the 100% production and distribution companies of the Prada Group, for a total value of €26.5 million.
The Epicenter of Los Angeles
In 2004, it opens the flagship store of Hong Kong. Miuccia receives New York’s International Award from Cfda.
After the success of the New York Center, OMA plans a new space on the historic Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. In some respects, the new project is the reverse of New York: a wave rises from the road level, rises to the second floor and goes down again. The facade is made up of a single aluminum plate. Many of the inner walls are made up of a special resin sponge that gives an unusual ‘porous’ appearance to the spaces. (Source: “Prada”, 2009 edition, Prada Arte project)
2004 Debut of Prada Center in Los Angeles
In the same year, the brand expanded its activities by sponsoring Luna Rossa, a sailboat participating in the America’s Cup, and the consequent introduction of the ad hoc technical clothing line the following year.
In April, an agreement was reached with Aedes. This will give rise to Real Estate International, which acquires Prada Group real estate assets for an estimated value of about €100 million and with a capital gain of €30 million of Prada.
Meanwhile, Helmut Lang’s acquisition is completed. The brand headquarters in New York are moved to Milan, while opting for the suspension of Genny’s clothing line, acquired three years earlier.
Departures and the Launch of the First Perfume
In 2005, Simonetta Ciampi was appointed design director for bags and accessories. In the following period, the Prada Group became lighter. With the sale of Helmut Lang, Jil Sander (2006) and Azzedine Alaïa, which returned to 100% in the hands of the Franco-Tunisian designer, while investors entered Banca Intesa, a 5% stake. This involves the incorporation of the Lamos shoe factory and in conjunction with the announcement of the start of the auction.
Also in 2005, for launching the first female fragrance, Miuccia Prada invites filmmaker Ridley Scott, and her daughter Jordan, to collaborate on the production of a short film. To represent the complexity of the feminine essence, Jordan chooses an ancient 1st-century poem entitled “Thunder Perfect Mind”, which illustrates the countless facets of the female psyche. “Thunder Perfect Mind” is shot by father and daughter in Berlin, and has Daria Werbowy, protagonist of the different female roles of wife, virgin, mother, daughter, and lover. (Source: “Prada”, 2009 edition, Prada Arte project)
From 2005 to 2010
Short Film’s
In March 2007, Prada launched Prada Phone by LG, the first fully mobile touch screen phone. More than a million pieces sold in 18 months of presence on the market. The process of asset optimization gives its fruit: Prada S.p.A. Closes 2007 with record profit of €127 million, up 65.8% over the previous year.
Trembled Blossoms
At the beginning of 2008, during the New York Fashion Week, Trembled Blossoms is presented. In line with Prada’s creative process, Tremclothing, bags, and packaging. The Trembled Blossoms movie is presentedbled Blossoms is born out of contradictory ideas. The interweaving of Miuccia Prada’s many inspirations, ranging from Art Nouveau to Hieronymus Bosch’s paintings, are perfectly restored by surreal designs by artist James Jean, which stimulate the creation of wallpaper, animated shorts, printed fabrics, at the New York Center in the fall of 2007, accompanied by a live performance by the Coco Rosie group, which made up the soundtrack of the film.
The film is subsequently screened during a series of exclusive events in the Epicenter of Los Angeles and Tokyo. (Source: “Prada”, edition 2009, Prada Arte project).
Fallen Shadows
An animated short film, entitled Fallen Shadows and directed by James Lima. Inspired by the collection by Steven Maisel in the campaign with Linda Evangelista, features an innovative technique of overlapping digital and traditional images: a hand-painted backdrop makes the background a new generation animation created entirely on the computer. (Source: “Prada”, edition 2009, Prada Arte project).
Prada and Contemporary Art
The Waist Down Show
The Layout of the Waist Down exhibition
Among the projects for art, Waist Down, is an itinerant exhibition that collects and exhibits the most original and significant models of skirts created by Prada from 1988 to today. The show is conceived by Prada and AMO as a modified event from time to time based on the exhibition space intended to accommodate it. The inauguration of the exhibition takes place in 2004 at the Tokyo Interstate, the second location is the famous Peace Hotel in Shanghai.
In 2006, Waist Down moved to New York City Center in SoHo to continue at the Los Angeles Downtown in Beverly Hills and finish with the inaugural installation of the Prada Transformer in Seoul. Each evolution interprets and conforms to the different exhibition spaces, mixing activities and features of the event with the culture of the host city. With Tokyo in 2004, Shanghai in 2005, New York and Los Angeles in 2006, and Seoul in 2009. (Source: “Prada”, edition 2009, Prada Arte project).
The Waist Down show
Prada Transformer
Subsequently, the Prada Transformer project is an installation housed for six months next to the historic Gyeonghigung Palace in downtown Seoul, capital of South Korea. It will combine several disciplines within a single building, gathering the various facets of Prada while respecting its autonomy and uniqueness.
Designed by Prada, in collaboration with architect Rem Koolhaas, tetrahedron has been conceived to host four events dedicated to art, cinema, fashion, and the world of culture. Each event has a distinct planimetry: hexagonal, rectangular, cruciform, and circular. Compared to any typical exhibition space that suits everything, the Transformer literally overturns, adapting its appearance to the features of each event.
The Prada Transformer Project in South Korea
In recognition of the cultural value of this cutting-edge project, the President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano wanted to include the Transformer on his state trip to Korea. This is the only case in the history of the Republic, where a private building is included in the program of the official visit of the Head of State.
The America’s Cup
“Luna Rossa” the Prada Catamaran
The Prada Group’s horizons transcend the boundaries of fashion: art, architecture, cinema, culture. Also, major challenges such as the America’s Cup are an integral part of the core values of the brand. Passionate and competent sailor, in 1997 Patrizio Bertelli launched an Italian challenge to America’s Cup, the most important sailing international competition. The ‘Red Moon’ boat wins the Louis Vuitton Cup, the Challenger selections for the 2000 America’s Cup, thus winning the right to challenge the New Zealand defender, which will then be defeated in a fierce final. But ‘Luna Rossa’ will remain a national phenomenon, an icon that has written one of the most important pages in the history of Italian sports. Never before had a sailing event been so followed in Italy.
Fondazione Prada
Prada Foundation Milan Across Isarco 2
A few months later, the new Prada Foundation in Milan, curated by Rem Koolhaas, opens to the public in May 2015. An area of 17,500 square meters in an industrial complex of the early twentieth century. In the field of art and culture, the Foundation is considered a true reference world-wide. The attention and interest of Miuccia and Maurizio Bertelli for the contemporary art world lead to the decision to open a space where presenting exhibitions realized in full collaboration with Italian and international artists.
“Prada Foundation is an initiative that aims to receive and retransmit the deepest mental provocations of the art of our time.” Miuccia Prada.
Over the years, the Prada Foundation has explored several research subjects, opening up to issues related to areas such as architecture, philosophy, science, design, and cinema.
From 2011 to Today
Fondazione Prada in Venice
Starting June 2, 2011, the Foundation opened a new exhibition space Ca ‘Corner della Regina”. A prestigious eighteenth-century building overlooking the Grand Canal in Venice, after an important conservation restoration intervention. This impressive historic building, which was made available by the Venice Civic Museum Foundation for 6-12 years, has inaugurated a complex and articulated exhibition that reflects the multifaceted activity of the Foundation.
Prada Foundation in “Corner of the Queen in Venice”
As of June 24, 2011, the Group placed 20% of its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, recording an initial valorization of the company at €9.2 billion, with the offer covered 3.5 times the available shares.
The “24 Hour Museum” Project
Prada “24 Hour Museum” Project
In 2012, Prada launches the “24 Hour Museum” project, conceived by Francesco Vezzoli, in collaboration with Rem Koolhaas’s AMO study. The installation for the “24 Hour Museum” has proposed three distinct moments, each inspired by a particular type of museum space: historical, contemporary, and forgotten. In the three areas, Francesco Vezzoli has imagined a “museum that is not there.” Where he exhibited his homage to the eternal feminine, and the interpretation of classical sculptures that allude a contemporary feel.
In the tradition of collaboration with artists and multiple approaches to the creative process, Prada intervenes to create a new project of linguistic and visual experimentation. The whole exhibition lasts 24 hours, a stage for a great party Baroque.
The Exhibition “Impossible Conversations”
Also in 2012, the Costume Institute, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, hosts the exhibition Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations. From May 10 to August 19, 2012 (preceded on May 7 by the Gala Benefit Event), the exhibition explored the unexpected affinities between the two Italian stylists belonging to different epochs.
Taking inspiration from Miguel Covarrubias’s “Interview impossible” for Vanity Fair in the 1930s, curators Harold Koda and Andrew Bolton gave rise to unreal conversations between these two women. Suggesting, new keys to reading their innovative work.
Elsa Schiaparelli’s and Miuccia Prada’s icons are presented in galleries. Along with 8 videos that simulate a series of conversations between the two stylists directed by Baz Luhrmann to illustrate how in their work they have explored similar themes through very different approaches.
Prada for “The Great Gatsby”
Catherine Martin and Miuccia Prada for The Great Gatsby
In 2013, Miuccia Prada collaborated with costume designer, Catherine Martin, to create a collection of over 40 exclusive evening cocktail dresses by Miu Miu and Prada for “The Great Gatsby” by Baz Luhrmann. A special show of selected costumes was exhibited at the New York Center from May 1 to May 12, then moved to the Tokyo Expo Center from June 14 to June 30, and finally moved to the IFC Mall in Shanghai from 11 to 21 September 2013.
The show, “Catherine Martin and Miuccia Prada Dress Gatsby”, combines evening dresses, hats, footwear, and jewelry with sketches, scene photos, backstage footage, and movie trailer. Also, mannequins wore the looks of each character accompanied by video from both the film and behind the scenes. Curated by New York’s 2 × 4 studio, the show was designed to change at each stage in order to reflect the unique features of each city that hosted it.
The Prada Gallery and Journal Projects
In 2013 Prada acquires an entire sky-earth portion of a property in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II overlooking the Ottagono and overlooking the historic store dedicated to female collections.
The project “The new Prada Gallery” is being developed in several phases. The first one sees the opening in 2013 of the new Prada Man shop on the ground floor of the palace. The spaces are entirely restored according to the aesthetic and architectural apts of the historic store of 1913.
The next phases of the project include the opening of a dining area on the mezzanine floor and the opening of exhibition spaces devoted to the Prada Foundation.
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II After Restoration
Also, in 2013 is the launch of Prada Journal, a literary competition in collaboration with Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore and Luxottica. The literary competition also arises from the curiosity of exploring innovative languages through forms of expression that converge on the written word, creating an independent platform of interest and an unusual editorial search reserve. Prada Journal had two more editions in 2014 and 2015.
Two New Short Film’s
A Theraphy
In 2013, Prada presents Cannes’s short film “A Theraphy”, written and directed by Roman Polanski, starring Ben Kingsley and Helena Bonham Carter. The author of The Pianist and Carnage has imagined a somewhat weird psychoanalytic sitting where Tim Burton’s wife interprets a rich and bored lady, gripped, while Kingsley is her analyst.
Cavalcanti Castle
In 2014 another film collaboration: an 8-minute short film directed by critically acclaimed American director, Wes Anderson. Cavalcanti Castle is perfectly located in Anderson’s authoritative universe, only this time in Italy. It’s September 1955, and Jason Schwartzman just went to slam with his racing car against a statue of Jesus. The result is a popular story about cases of fate in a typical ‘Andersonian’ style.
Close to its first centenary, is a holding company employing more than 7800 employees and distributing its products through a network of 353 stores in more than 70 countries.
Acquisitions of 2014
In March, Prada SpA announces the acquisition of 80% of Angelo Marchesi Srl, owner of the Milanese pastry factory founded in 1824. The same year is the acquisition of the historic tannery Mégisserie Hervy at Isle, near Limoges. The acquisition was carried out jointly with Conceria Superior SpA of Santa Croce, a long-time industrial partner of the Prada Group. The aim of the operation is to ensure the recovery and revival of a productive structure which is an example of excellence in the tannin tradition of lamb skins and in particular of “plongé” tassels, with the aim of preserving its precious craft know-how.
Pradasphere
Pradasphere in Hong Kong
Also in 2014, the launch of the Pradasphere project, an exhibition dedicated to the Prada brand and curated by the 2 × 4 studio in New York. The first edition is hosted by Harrods in London for a month. The exhibition follows the multifaceted obsession of the brand through fashion, art, architecture, cinema, sports and more, forty showcases, a pop-up store, video installations, and the elegant Marchesi pastry shop. The second edition of Pradasphere took place in Hong Kong, in a space specially created for the occasion.
Marchesi Pastries
After the acquisition of Angelo Marchesi Srl, in September 2015 Pasticceria Marchesi presents at the space, via Monte Napoleone 9. This is the first place after the opening of the historic Milanese coffee. Marchesi Monte Napoleone remains faithful to its style and its impeccable quality, offering a wider range of products. Designed by architect Roberto Baciocchi, the new shop extends over an area of 120 square meters and the interiors reinterpret the atmosphere and charm of Via Santa Maria at Porta 11 / a.
Marchesi Pastry Shop on via Monte Napoleone 9
Within a year, Pasticceria Marchesi opened a third shop in the heart of Milan, within the emblematic Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a symbol of the city. At the new space, located on the mezzanine floor of the building that houses Prada Man. You can access via stairs or elevators from both Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and the Prada store. The new Marchesi space is spread over an area of 250 square meters and reinterprets the atmosphere and fascination of the historic shop of Via Santa Maria alla Porta. Located in a charming setting marked by numerous arch windows, overlooking the beautiful frescoes and precious floors to the mosaic of the Gallery.
The Restoration of the Last Supper by Giorgio Vasari
The Last Supper by Giorgio Vasari
On November 4, 2016, Giorgio Vasari’s restored the masterpiece in Santa Croce, fifty years after the Flood. Thanks to the commitment of Opificio delle Pietre Dure and the contribution of Prada, Getty Foundation, and Civil Protection. The ceremony takes place in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella and Patrizio Bertelli, Managing Director of the Prada Group, Irene Sanesi, President of the Opera of Santa Croce, Marco Ciatti, Director of the Dure Stone Store, and Antoine Wilmering, Getty Foundation Senior Program Officer.
Giorgio Vasari’s Last Supper, which water and mud swept through this museum’s hall on November 4, 1966, has been preserved for decades in a Superintendency depot along with many other flooded works. After fifty years, thanks to new technologies, the restoration and the painting have been relocated to the Cenacolo. Thanks to the new technology, the Structure of Pietre Dure and the support of Prada, Getty Foundation and Civil Protection to make this possible. The Return of the Last Supper to Santa Croce is a virtuous example of patronage that has seen together in more than ten years. Thanks to Prada, who made it possible to intervene on the painting, the Getty Foundation for wooden support, and Civil Protection who allowed studies and surveys.
The Past Forward Project
Past Forward is a multi-platform film project born in 2016 by the collaboration between Miuccia Prada and US director and screenwriter, David O. Russell. Acclaimed for films such as American Hustle, The Fighter, and The Positive Side. Russell has imagined Past Forward as a dreamy, surreal, and silent landscape with an eclectic cast that re-plays scenes in variable combinations. The result is an unreliable story, a parallax view in which scenes, characters, costumes, genres, and even multiple endings, repeat and turn away. Rejecting the logic of conventional fiction. Russell represents his characters as elements of a complex collage, leaving the spectator the task of decoding what experience, memory, dream, and understanding overlap and differences between them.
Prada Opens Observatory
Prada Foundation Opens Observatory
In December 2016, the Prada Foundation opens Osservatorio, a new exhibition space dedicated to photography and visual languages. Located at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. Observatory is a place of exploration and investigation of the trends and expressions of contemporary photography. The constant evolution of the medium and its connections with other creative disciplines and realities. In a historical moment, in which photography is an integral part of the global digital communication flow, the Prada Foundation, through Osservatorio’s activities, questions the cultural and social implications of current photographic production and its reception. It extends the repertoire of modes and tools with which the Foundation interprets and relies on the present.
Located on the fifth and sixth floor of one of the central buildings, the Osservatorio is above the octagonal, at the level of the glass and iron dome covering the Gallery created by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1867. The environments, rebuilt in After World War II following the bombings that struck the center of Milan in 1943, they underwent a restoration that made available an 800 m2 exhibition space developed on two levels.
The Shaping Conference at Creative Future
In March 2017, the Prada Group presented to Milan “Shaping to Creative Future”, a conference organized in collaboration with the Yale School of Management and the Politecnico of Milan School of Management. The event explored new possible connections between sustainability and innovation. This led to a confrontation between entrepreneurship, culture, and the international academic world. During the first day, at the Prada Foundation, teachers from both universities met with representatives of companies and associations to work out a critical perspective that was the focus of discussion on the next day. The following day, at Prada’s headquarters, entrepreneurial personalities, and spokespersons of international organizations met at a plenary conference, enriching the debate with inspirational insights and personal experiences.
The Tod’s brand produces Made in Italy luxury shoes and leather goods. The styles have became icons of modern living. A symbol of the perfect combination of tradition, quality and modernity.
The origins of Tod’s dates back to the turn of the twentieth century, when Filippo Della Valle, Diego’s grandfather, founded a small shoe manufacturer.
“My family has always had leather as a ruling force,” recalls the current chairman, Diego Dalla Valle. “My grandfather Filippo was a shoemaker, who worked in his kitchen at home, at first helped by my grandmother and then by the six children as they grew up. Twice a week my dad (Dorino), who was in charge of production, and uncle Pasquale, in charge of marketing, would travel by night on bicycles, or in freight trains, to save money, to Pescara, Forlì and Bologna, to sell our products to wholesalers who serviced the market stalls.”
In 1920 Tod’s started from a leather an at home shoe making workshop, founded by Fillippo Della Valle in Sant’Elipidio, Marche, Central Italy. Later, in the 1940s, Dorino Della Valle, took over the company after Fillippo’s death, and slowly started to grow this small shoe-making factory. He took on greater responsibilities within the structure of the footwear manufacturer that was producing, at the time, only women’s shoes.
At the end of the 1960s, Dorino Della Valle completed business on his own, with the help of his wife. Diego Della Valle, the son of Dorino Della Valle exclaims,
“my mother, Maria Micucci would stitch together soles and uppers, letting me sleep in the baskets of shoes to keep an eye on me.”
Diego Della Valle Enters the Company
Diego Della Valle Portrait. Photographer: Emanuele Scorcelletti
Dorino expanded the company into the US successfully, and started to sell his shoes in major department store in US. Diego began working for the company in the 1970s, after an attempt at university studies. He took just four exams in two years, in the department of law.
“In effect, the lack of a desire to study has always been a family disease. So I went back home and started working with my father.”
Through the 1970s Diego Della Valle expanded Fillippo’s workshop into a wider impact to the whole industry. Then, in 1979, Diego Della Valle became President of Tod’s. Also at this time, the vice president was his brother, Andrea Della Valle.
Renamed to Tod’s S.p.A.
In 1986 Diego Della Valle became the sole administrator of the company, which in the meanwhile had been renamed Tod’s S.p.A. New concepts in terms of product lines, marketing plans, and corporate strategy transformed the family workshop into one of the leading players in the production and marketing of luxury footwear and leather goods.
Later, the brands Hogan and Fay were introduced into the Tod’s Group in the 1980s.
Hogan
Hogan stood out for its high design content. The basic model, inspired by English cricket shoes from the 1930s, was made with a double overlapping upper in order to make the shoe more durable. With a foam rubber padding of the edges and the insole, and a sole with an undulating design to ensure maximum flexibility. Initially focused on the production of footwear for women, men, and children, Hogan recently diversified into leather goods.
Fay
Founded by the Tod’s Group in the late 1970s, the Fay brand was originally born in the United States, specializing in the production of robust corduroy cotton and nylon fishnet jackets jackets closed by four hooks inspired by American fire-fighters. Today the brand features male and female lines, complete with accessories, and a kids line. Fay is characterized by the distinctive Double Life philosophy. In each Fay collection, the garments are designed to address different business and business opportunities. Also, Leisure is for the city or the most dynamic outdoor contexts. The “Fay Code” is today synonymous with informal, sophisticated, cosmopolitan and versatile elegance. The expression of an Italian taste that, inspired by an international breath, combines quality, luxury and research in a timeless balance between tapestry and innovation.
In the 90s Fay joined the eloquent quality of Made in Italy and the style of tradition. The brand evolved into a cosmopolitan taste that moves its footsteps from tailoring to anticipate new urban scale trends worldwide, listening attentively to a constantly moving audience.
The Production
Tod’s Craftmanship
Excellence in quality is an absolute must for the entire group. This is guaranteed by the high proportion of craftsmanship in the manufacturing process and a strict control of the raw materials and all the phases of the production process. Tod’s shoe manufacturing requires more than 100 working phases, from handmade leather to sewing of individual components of each model. A shoe can be made up of 35 pieces of leather, each of which is treated and manually checked before being assembled.
The entire process involves several skilled craftsmen in carrying out a precise task. The skins come from the best tanners in the world and, like fine wine, some pieces have to wait years to reach the right color and consistency point. Every single piece is checked by the experts to evaluate their color, strength and thickness to achieve a perfect homogeneity, otherwise it is discarded. Once the finished product is reached, every pair of shoes is carefully examined and the defective models are eliminated.
The same procedure is followed in the realization of the bags, which stand out for a craftsmanship similar to the old procedures used for saddlery.
Production is primarily carried out in 9 fully owned plants, 7 for footwear, and 2 for leather goods. Also, a part is outsourced to a few specialized workshops, which the company has established stable and long-lasting working relationships. Diego Della Valle has always rejected espansionist policies by acquiring some luxury players.
“I do not see the advantages of a pole. Each brand has its own research and product offices, advertising campaigns are autonomous, as well as mono-brand stores. In short, synergies are limited to production and logistics. With the risk that buyers do not have organizational structures and managers to devote to what they have bought, they eventually do not control anything anymore.”
The Gommino Loafer
Gommino Loafer
The “gommino” was born in the late 1970s. Diego Della Valle had noticed that they needed footwear ideal for casual chic occasions where a classical Italian prefer to wear a pair of chinos and a blazer and began working on this 50s prototype. The loafer if lightweight, flat, entirely hand-sewn, with rubber balls on the sole, so it simply called “rubbery” and worked. This featured an unusual sole that had 133 little raised rubber circles. In order to make one pair of loafers required 100 manufacturing steps, many of which involved hand labor. The strong point of the Tod’s line was also the selection of fine American leathers and British hides, all rigorously water-repellent and produced by quality, small-scale tanneries.was created with the intention of combining classic Italian style with the functionality of a versatile shoe that can be worn on any occasion.
The loftier has become international famous and worn by movie stars such as Michael Douglas, Catherine Deneuve, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel Jackson, Orlando Bloom, George Clooney, Claudia Schiffer, and Cindy Crawford.
In 1997 the company launched a collection of classic, modern and chic handbags, able to reflect the same spirit of the footwear line. The most famous was the D Bag, bought by Princess Diana in the Paris boutique, demonstrating the company’s elegant style.
Tod’s Diana D Bag
Turnover and Investments in the Early 2000s
By 2000, Tod’s debuted in the electronic market of the Milan Stock Exchange. In 2001, the rise in economic indicators was still in double figures. Turnover increased by 26.6%, while the EBITDA, registered a leap upward of 31.5%.
In 2002, a year of crisis for the luxury sector, the manufacturer had a repeat year. Net revenues amounted to €358.2 million, a 12.5% increase, the EBITDA was €91.8 million, a 13.9% increase. That same year, investments in non-physical immobilization of capital, amounted to €28.6 million, due to the expansion of the network of direct distribution and sales, which grew by another 21 new shops. The capital locked up in material investments amounted to €15.8 million, of which 38% was allocated for the construction of a new manufacturing plant adjoining the headquarters of Sant’Elpidio a Mare. All the investments were self-financed, given that the financial situation was in the black to the tune of €46.7 million.
Enter into BNL
The label Tod’s, accounted for 57.2% of total sales, continues to bring in the lion’s share. During the same period, the company acquired 4.6% of Italy’s Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, so that Della Valle is now the third-largest shareholder, after the Basque group BBVA and Le Generali. Tod’s CEO, Diego exclaims,
“The objectives of this investment is to help, along with the other primary partners, to reinforce the stability of the bank. I am an industrialist, not a financier. I decided to buy into BNL on the basis of an industrial project, and I am in for the long term.”
At the end of 2002, the distribution network included 71 directly operated sales outlets, and 37 franchised stores.
In 2003 revenues and the gross operating margin of the first quarter of Tod’s SpA have increased, at constant rates of exchange, compared with the same period in 2002, by 3% and 17%, respectively. The label Tod’s, accounted for 57.2% of the total sales.
Expansion and Collaboration
In 2006, the comoany entered a collaboration with Marcolin Group to produce sunglasses collection. This year, they started to develop their market in China, and opened the first flagship store in Hong Kong. Until 2009, Tod’s has opened 13 boutiques in China.
Later, in 2011 Tod’s funded the renovation of the Colosseum.
The Colosseum
That same year, the company began supporting the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, entering the Theater Foundation. The result of this valuable collaboration is the short “An Italian Dream”.
A year later, in 2012, the leather goods, and accessories of Tod’s became available on Mr. Porter.
2013 the company replaced creative director, Derek Lam, with Alessandra Facchinetti, who made an impressive debut in the 2014 spring summer collection, until her stepping down in 2016. Then, in 2014. Andrea Incontri appointed creative director of men’s wear of Tod’s. Dot’s of Life launched- a modern platform that encouraged people to share their lifestyle on social media through the brand, utilizing a key modern platform.
Tod’s Acquires Roger Vivier
In 2015 Tod’s partnered with Net-a-Porter.com, after their trial launch a year before, to sell their ‘ready-to-wear’ brand of accessories online. At this year, Tod’s SpA acquired Roger Vivier, a French luxury women’s shoe brand. A year later, in 2016 the brand revenue registered €419.4 million in sales in the first nine months of 2016.
Current Situation
Tod’s Headquarters at Sant’Elpidio a Mare, Italy
Currently, the company’s headquarters still remains at Sant’Elipidio Marche, Central Italy, where Fillippo first started his small home-based workshop nearly 100 years ago. The rapid development of recent years has allowed the Tod’s Group to reach €1.004 million in turnover at December 31, 2016 and reach a number of employees that exceed about 5,000 employees.
As of December 31, 2016, the Group’s distribution network consisted of 272 DOS and 107 franchise stores, compared to 257 DOS and 99 franchise stores at 31 December 2015. Future objectives include the continuation of the investment plan under way, with continued research into new products and a growing international expansion of the direct distribution network.
Throughout Tod’s 90 years alive, they’ve been seeking perfection. Their legacy is intertwined with innovative thoughts and represented in an unprecedented approach. Tod’s everlasting mission is to understand and to pave the way to greatness, asserting the notion that with each step, perfection is possible.
Founded by Dante Trussardi in 1911 in Bergamo, Italy. The company started as a luxury gloves business. Today, Trussardi is an international brand that produces “Made in Italy” luxury leather goods, men’s and womenswear collections.
Founded by Dante Trussardi in 1911 in Bergamo, Italy. The company started as a high quality gloves business targeting elegant men and women. It grew and became an official provider for the royal family. The brand stood for discreet sophistication, experimentation and innovation. Iconic elements such as high quality raw materials and revolutionary leatherworking techniques were born. These iconic elements still exist in the brand DNA today.
1911 Dante Trussardi Sign
Nicola Trussardi
Sixty years later, Dante’s grandson, Nicola Trussardi, a young manager with a degree in economics from Catholic University of Milan, took over the family business. In school, Nicola studied leatherworking processes, the market, and new trends that were reinforcing Italian style around the world. This education helped Nicola understand the destiny of gloves by this point was obsolete, and without a decisive change in direction, the company was destined to decline and fall. Nicola’s vision is to create a lifestyle brand, able to embrace with every style of life all aspects of life, always focusing on excellence.
Nicola Trussardi Portrait
Trussardi became an industrial group and entered the clothing and luxury accessories department. They designed and produced suitcases, bags, home, office and leather jackets in constantly changing styles. The brand stood true to Italian tradition of fine craftsmanship that has been passed down through generations.
The Greyhound
In 1973 Nicola became the first designer to adopt a logo to identify all products. He used the greyhound to symbolize modernity, agility, and energy. the Greyhound revolutionizes the international fashion system leaving an indelible imprint in the imagination of those years with its refinement and elegance, with the cautious care of details, with incomparable quality materials. From this time on the greyhound became an international symbol, representing the brand that is still used today. In 1976 the brand opened its first flagship store in Milan and expanded into the European and American markets.
Red Leather Greyhound Logo
The First Fashion Show
The next step was natural, with the presentation of the first collection of prêt-à-porter in the late 70s and early 80s. With the close collaboration of his wife Maria Luisa, Nicola offered a prêt-à-porter with contemporary and dynamic lines. He favored the use of leather, reinvented by new technologies of processing and other modern and precious materials, such as neoprene and microfibers. Along with being a designer, Nicola was an expert in marketing. He immediately focused on the world of media with spectacular operations in Milan. He brought his runway presentations into exciting new spaces including: Teatro alla Scala, the Piazza del Duomo, the Pinacoteca di Brera, the Stazione Centrale, the Borsa, the racetrack, and opened them to the general public. He surrounded himself with intellectuals and artists, who gave their contributions to the griffe: from the painter Renato Guttuso from whose drawings he derived a sunflower print, to directors and costume designers invited to collaborate on the staging of the runway presentations. But Nicola does not stop at fashion: he is among the first to understand the unstoppable value of the brand: bicycles, tile, perfume, cars, airplanes, helicopters, house linens.
Nicolas Inspiration: Renato Guttuso
Trussardi and the Theater
The Trussardi lifestyle includes art, entertainment, cultured events and design. At this time, the brand had officially become a vital brand in the field of excellent products to be “Made in Italy.” Including the diverse range of fashion, art, cuisine and design. In the years Trussardi is able to blend in harmony with fashion at the theater. He collaborates with the Teatro Piccolo in Milan and with his director Giorgio Strehler, dressing Macbeth on stage at Verona Arena and setting up a parade at Castello Sforzesco with the direction of Dario Argento. Nicola interprets himself in Robert Altman’s Prêt-à-porter movie. This leads to the opening of Palatrussardi in 1986. A new venue for concerts and large scale entertainment events, that housed Frank Sinatra’s last concert in Italy.
Frank Sinatra at Palatrussardi
Brand Expansion
Known for their elegance and quality, Trussardi rapidly grew internationally through the 90s, that expanded beyond fashion. The Group launches the Jeans, Home, Baby, Junior, Eyewear and Perfumes lines, becoming synonymous with elegance and absolute quality. In the 1990s, the company continued its international expansion path, focusing on new emerging markets in Eastern Europe, Asia and the Middle East. New boutiques are opened in Hong Kong (1992), Moscow (1993), Taiwan and Taipei (1994). In those years it is also the image to spread the style around the world thanks to the collaboration with the most interesting voices of international photography such as Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, Michel Comte, and Steven Klein.
In 1996, Palazzo Marino Alla Scala opened, a newly renovated hotel, that became the first flagship building in the fashion world that was built with a showroom, boutique, exhibition space, café, bookshop and restaurant all in one. On average, in recent years, sales amount to Lire 750 billion a year. In 1998, he founded a school for future fashion professionals, photographers and communicators. Sadly, on an April night in 1999 Nicola Trussardi died suddenly at the age of 57, in a car crash. The tradition of the Trussardi family name and the spirit of Nicola continues to be upheld.
Beatrice Trussardi
After the death of their father, children Beatrice and Francesco took over the management of the family business. The “touch” of these two young people became immediately apparent. They created a younger fashion. The runway presentation for Winter 2003 ranged from the vaguely British style, with minor references to India in the form of damasked fabrics, and sporty suits. British style: knit pullovers with leather inserts, velvet suits, regimental stripes printed on the suede blazers. During this runway presentation, the maison announced a licensing agreement with Vestimenta, for formalwear and men’s sportswear, for Spring-Summer 2004.
Beatrice Trussardi Portrait
The following year Francesco died at the age of 29 in a car crash, by a tragic fate, just as his father had. In March of 2003, 32-year-old Beatrice, becomes sole president, after father and her brother’s sudden deaths. Determined to carry on the work that her brother had begun, for Winter 2004, she presented one of the finest runway presentations in the history of the brand. It represented a way of being, more than just a fashion. The desire to please, rather than to astonish. A wardrobe intentionally for daytime wear, outside of any trends, and therefore, easy to wear. The line included interchangeable items in bright and complementary colors.
In 2006 Eric Wright, an American designer, who worked closely alongside Karl Lagerfeld, while designing for Fendi womenswear, was named head designer by Beatrice, current CEO and President at the time. Beatrice hired Wright with the intention of strengthening the menswear by reversing the current marketed route by bringing back forgotten colors, patterns and rediscover the rounded lines of inside pocket objects. Wright was head designer for 2 years.
Then, in 2008 the Trussardi high end brand was re-named Trussardi dal 1911. During this name change, Beatrice Trussardi, current CEO and President appointed Milan Vukmirovic, previous creative director at Jil Sander, and briefly Design Director at Gucci working alongside Tom Ford, to creative director. Beatrice hired Vukmirovic for his contemporary vision for tradition of Trussardi style.
Foundation Nicola Trussardi
Beatrice also strengthened Trussardi’s commitment to contemporary culture through the launch of the Fondazione Nicola Trussardi; a nomadic museum built to bring art into people’s lives. The foundation restores neglected houses in Milan and gives them to the city to be used as space for exhibitions and events. The company is also part of the world of high-class cuisine with Trussardi Alla Scala Restaurant, one of the best outposts of quality gastronomy in Italy that has recently obtained the prestigious recognition of the two Michelin stars.
Restaurant Trussardi Alla Scala
Palazzo Trussardi Alla Scala
In 2009 Trussardi flagship building, Palazzo Trussardi Alla Scala underwent structural renovations and has become a heart of Italian culture. Sticking true to brand values of tradition, the building now houses the first concept store. Inside you can find an exposed layout filled with accessories and clothing for men and women, articles for the home, an area devoted to winning voices of image based journalism, and Café Trussardi, home of the first vertical garden installation in Italy, designed by Patrick Blanc.
Palazzo Trussardi Alla Scala
Group Values
Engaged in innovation, sustainability and environmental engagement, Trussardi is the story and the future of Made in Italy excellence in fashion, design, art and cuisine. The brand expresses a new lifestyle, based on excellence: for almost a hundred years the brand is an expression of the solidity and creativity of a home, commitment, and family values.
In fashion, the company has developed, in a century of experience, a unique ability to look for new ways and techniques for treating hides and fabrics. The roots of the brand include the Italian industrial history and its ability to work on the skin is unmatched throughout the world. The gloves laboratory opened by Dante Trussardi in 1911 is a historic example of the dedication and ambitions of the company. The creativity of the family, which has crossed, reinvented and renewed, the last century of our history, expresses an imaginary made of measured elegance, attention to detail, sobriety and charm.
Trussardi Blue Leather Gloves
In fashion, design, art and cuisine, each time the brand continually combines the culture of its history with the emotion, lightness, irony, and visions of contemporary. Thanks to the strength of the tradition that has built over time, the brand is able to offer fascinating surprises, rapid innovations, and small daily revolutions.
Trussardi in the world
Trussardi is an industrial group that produces and distributes worldwide. Through a differentiation between flagship stores, boutiques, franchise stores, corners, licenses and large retailers, their products are present in every significant market for apparel, accessories, perfumes, furnishing, and home accessories.
The Group’s exclusive distribution network comprises around 440 outlets around the world: 7 Trussardi boutiques, over 300 Tru Trussardi boutiques and in department stores, 17 Trussardi Home stores, and more than 110 retail outlets and stores. Including, the first TJ (TrussardiJeans) shop opened at Moscow Gum in 23 countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The Group is also present in the most important multibrands in the world including Barneys, New York; Jeffrey’s, New York; The Webster, Miami; Ron Hermann, Los Angeles; Harrods, London; Joseph, London; Aizel, Moscow; Colette, Paris; Printemps, Paris; Mientus, Berlin; Quartier 206, Berlin; Abseits, Stuttgart; Lakis Gavalas, Athens; Galy, Ibiza; The Outpost, Barcelona; Chapeau, Valencia; White Gallery, Rome; Boon the shop, Seoul; United Arrows, Tokyo; Restir, Tokyo; Designworks, Tokyo; Isetan, Tokyo; Estnation, Tokyo; Eight Million, Tokyo; Joyce, Hong Kong.
The Recent Year’s
Family Portrait
Through the renovations the company exposes themes of innovation and sustainability. Then, in 2011 Trussardi 1911 line is officially changed to Trussardi. Umit Benan Sahin, Turkish designer, is appointed as head designer of now Trussardi line. He previously worked for Marc Jacobs, Cacharel, and under Sophie Theallet. Sahin debuted his first line at Milan Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2012 at Palazzo Trussardi alla Scala.
February of 2013, Gaia Trussardi, granddaughter of founder Dante, is appointed as creative director of Trussardi mainline collections and advertising campaigns. She has been a part of the company since age 23, and previously designed for Tru Trussardi and Trussardi Jeans. The brand expresses its need for continuous evolution and to strengthen brand identity. In March 2016, Beatrice, former CEO and President, gave Tomaso Trussardi, current CEO, her 25% stake in the company. The company announced a 5-year plan to reposition the brand in accessible luxury. Including a 90% overhaul in line management and restructuring of the multi and mono-brand sales channel, closing down less profitable stores. Along with major changes, the line Tru Trussardi is being discontinued, the last collection was Spring/Summer 2016. Trussardi and Trussardi Jeans will remain. Gaia plans to position the main Trussardi line around “Elegantly Cool” and the Trussardi Jeans will remain a streetwear look.
Today, Trussardi has introduced a contemporary new accessory called the Lovy bag, representing true Italian craftsmanship, made of the finest materials. The brand ambassador, Michelle Hunziker, represents the ironic and elegant elements of the brand. She is confident, complimented with a bubbly personality. Michelle is the ambassador for the new bag, appearing in all campaigns since 2016.
Michelle Hunziker: Brand Ambassador for the Lovy Bag
Italian house of furs and leather goods. One of the first brands of the Made in Italy movement to become world famous. The company was established in Rome 1925, as a small shop for leather goods, and a secret fur workshop, on via del Plebiscito. The founders, Edoardo and Adele Fendi, developed the brand, but the true success started with the second generation, represented by five sisters, Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla, and Alda. They brought new energy and ideas during the boom years that caused the brand to flourish.
First Original Store in Rome
Karl Lagerfeld Creative Director
In 1926 Fendi opened its historic boutique in the heart of Rome in via Borgognona. In 1965, the collaboration with Karl Lagerfeldbegan. Lagerfeld is known for the way he transformed the concept of fur. He reinvented a garment that had traditionally been considered pompous, bulky, and not always easy to wear. With Lagerfeld as creative director, fur acquired a softness, wearability, reversibility, and became “fun fur”, a staple in the brand DNA that still exists today. At the same time, he searched for new materials, treatments, experimental techniques, and the rediscovery of forgotten and overlooked furs.
Woman Collection SS18
Over the years the Fendi bags became more functional. Leather was printed, dyed, and woven. The double FFs, in black and brown, were immediately recognizable and combined with stripes and squared patterns. The Selleria line, all completely handmade and in limited numbers, was created.
5 Fendi Sisters With Karl Lagerfeld
The Third Generation
In 1977 Fendi presents the Maison’s first ready-to-wear collection. In the early Ninties, the third generation, represented by Silvia Venturini Fendi, daughter of Anna, took place as Creative Director for accessories and men’s lines. She launched the Fendissime line, which included furs, sportswear, and accessories for a younger market. Two years later, they opened their first store in New York on Fifth Avenue. Meanwhile, the empire of the five sisters enriched itself with numerous licenses, including knitwear, bathing suits, jeans, umbrellas, watches, eyeglasses, ceramics, furnishings, and linens. In total, about twenty licenses, besides furs and leather goods.
At this time, about 80% of the production was exported. In Italy and abroad there were about 100 boutiques and 600 points-of-sale, with a turnover of about 600 billion liras, which put Fendi in fourth place among the brands of Italian prêt-à-porter. Fendi has created furs for both stage and screen, notably for Gruppo di Famiglia in un interno (1974) and The Innocent (1976) by Visconti, La vera storia della Dama delle Camelie (1980) by Bolognini, La Traviata (1983) by Zeffirelli, Interno Berlinese (1985) by Liliana Cavani, Carmen (1986), The Age of Innocence (1993) by Scorsese, and Evita (1996) by Parker.
Silvia Venturini with models, SS18 Man Collection
LVMH Acquires Fendi
By the end of 1999, the company is at the center of many buying appetites. After endless sales rumors, the Maison ran under the control of Prada and Bernard Arnault, who was the owner of LVMH. LVMH, in a joint venture with Prada (Lvp Holding), acquires 51% of the company, but management remains in the hands of the Fendi family. Later on, Prada began selling its shares to LVMH, becoming in 2001 its majority shareholder.
The Success
In January 2001, Fendi collaborated in a joint venture with Aoi, a 30 years distributor of the brand in Japan. The new company, called Fendi Japan K: K, is on the market from the spring-summer 2001 collection.
Since 2002, the Men’s collection has been produced for 5 years by Ma.co. Company of So. Lather this year, they launched the made-to-order service for handmade leather goods including the famous Peekaboo bag. This gives the customers an opportunity to fully customize their bag, seen as a true luxury.
Galleria Collection: Custom Service and Handmade
Fendi continues to stay involved with contemporary events including the exhibit Goddess, at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the most prestigious events in New York that spring, displays two dresses donated by the Fendi Archive in 2003.
Also, a special moment in April 2005 in Rome, the 18th-century palazzo Boncompagni Ludovisi becomes Palazzo Fendi. They build a new headquarters, and with its opening, the house celebrates their 80th anniversary. Later, in 2010 they launch kids wear and Fendi Home.
In the year of 2007, Fendi staged an unforgettable fashion show at the Great Wall of China with 88 models and a 1,500-mile-long catwalk.
Fendi Fashion Show at the Great Wall of China
The opening of a new boutique in Paris in 2008, however, took place with a private concert of Amy Winehouse for just 400 guests.
The Recent Years
This Italian house continues to get involved with new project and innovations. In 2011, they were chosen, due to its common values of craftsmanship and tradition, to collaborate with the Maserati “GranTurismo Convertible”. It was overlooked by Silvia Venturini Fendi and featured materials created in various colors specifically for it. It had Fendi’s double F logo stitched into the seats, in the center of the 20-inch Trident design alloy wheels, and side sills.
In 2013 the group started the restoration work of the fountains in Rome with the Fendi For Fountains project. They began with the Trevi Fountain, and followed up with the Quattro Fontane. This showed how Rome and Fendi share a deep connection. Fendi is rooted in Rome, and has always been its muse. Later, in June 2013 they sign a contract with Safilo Group S.p.A. for the production and worldwide distribution of sunglasses and eye-glasses’ frames.
As for 2014, the brand took another step towards technology. Unveiling luxurious new headphones created in collaboration with Beats by Dr. Dre. The Fendi X Beats by Dr. Dre was announced in Fendi’s Men’s Spring/Summer 2015 fashion show in Milan. Later, the brand collaborated with Zaha Hadid to create a layered leather handbag, which was part of the 3Baguette Project, a collection of creations by famous UK-based women, to be auctioned to charity.
SS18 Man Collection
For the first time ever, the Maison uses drones in order to video record its fashion show in 2014. Later, the fashion house buys 49% of Taramax SA’s shares, a luxury-watches- specialized business. This action will allow them to have a more important presence in the luxury-watches market.
SS18 Man Collection
Celebrating 50 Years of Collaboration with Lagerfeld
In 2015, under the wings of Lagerfeld, Fendi presented their first “Haute Forrure” collection during couture week in Paris. Fendi’s internationally renowned line of fur helped to differentiate the brand form its competitors as one of the few designers with a full range of fur offerings.
Later, Fendi moved its headquarters into Palazzo Civilta Italiana, which was built in 1942, to celebrate the EXPO. Unfortunately, the event was never held, but the first floor of the new building has remained a dedicated space for contemporary art exhibitions.
SS17, Bags Special Shooting
In the same year, Fendi payed homage to its collaboration with Lagerfeld, celebrating his 50 years as creative director, with the book “Fendi by Karl Lagerfeld” featuring exclusive material telling an amazing story of heritage, creativity, and modernity. This is the longest relationship between a designer and a luxury fashion brand in the industry.
The Book of Fendi by Karl Lagerfeld
In 2016 they completed the restoration and opening of Palazzo Fendi in Rome, on the corner of Via dei Condotti and Piazza di Spagna. The building hosts the Japanese multi-starred Zuma restaurant inside. At the 2nd floor, there is the Fendi Privé, a private apartment for celebrities, VIPs, and friends. At the 3rd floor, there is the Fendi Private Suites, which consists of 7 imperial suites.
For their 90th anniversary, on July 7, 2016 they host their haute couture A/W 2016/2017 fashion show at the Trevi fountain (Rome), whose restoration has been supported by the Roman maison. Also, they hosted an exhibition, Fendi Roma- The Artisans of Dreams, to explain the production process of the fur and creativity elements.
Fashion Show at the Trevi Fountain
Current Situation
Currently, the fashion house is performing strong with a turnover of more than €1 billion. With Pietro Beccari as chairman and CEO. Creative director’s Lagerfeld and Silvia continue to work side by side in the success of Fendi, remaining the only brand to have an in-house fur atelier.
English brand of shoes that is a recognized leader in the men’s handmade luxury footwear industry. Known for high-quality shoes with modern style and elegance. Representing the English artisan-made shoe all over the world.
The Origins: Stone Church
Church’s Artisan
Church’s dates back to 1675, when the company founder’s great-grandfather, Stone Church, was born in Northampton. A town known for a successful leather and footwear industry since Cromwellian times. The shoemaking skills were passed down generation to generation to Stone’s great grandsons, Thomas Church. In 1873 the brand Church’s was created by the brothers Thomas, Alfred, and WilliamChurch.
Church’s began exporting outside of Europe to the United States, Canada and South America, and received the prestigious Queen’s Award for Exports from Queen Elizabeth II in 1965.
Church’s Heritage Shoe Craftsmanship
There are 250 production steps for each pair and the process takes 8 weeks. The firm’s headquarters is in Northampton, the town which provided the boots for Cromwell’s army in the Irish War. It also provided 70% of the shoes worn by the British soldiers fighting in the trenches along the Marne in the massacre of World War I.
The Goodyear Model
The shoe factory, besides producing the classic leather shoe, first invented the technique to combine the preciousness of the most valuable and futuristic rubber comfort used for soles. That is how the Goodyear model was born, a lace-up leather shoe with para rubber. The first exports were made in 1887. The début in America came in 1907.
Goodyear Flexible Rubber Collection 2012
In 1998 the turnover was 240 billion liras. At this point, the griffe is still guided by the family’s descendants, even if they no longer control the majority of shares. In Summer 1999 Diego Della Valle, “Mr. Tod’s,” bought up 8.6% of the shares. Patrizio Bertelli of Prada bought 9% and, at the end of August, launched a friendly takeover bid to acquire control, offering a 20% premium over the share price, of the Stock Exchange’s price, worth about 310 billion liras.
Prada Acquires Church’s
Later in 1999, Church’s is taken over by Prada Holding, a Dutch company at the head of Gruppo Internazionale, which is among the world leaders in luxury design. The acquisition occurs with the explicit intent of “optimizing” the business opportunities of the brand, with full respect for its English identity. The main strategic plan foresees the rationalization of production criteria and the introduction of marketing logic in the planning of collections and new products. This is to allow a further expansion of production capacity and the development of a collection that includes classic categories as well as more contemporary offerings connected to the seasons.
Church’s Shanghai Ebony White Classic Shoe
Church’s New Chapter
In January 2002, a second single-brand boutique in Milan, after the one on via Sant’Andrea, is opened in September 2000. The 600 square foot shop in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele is on two floors (shop and warehouse), with walls in teak and wengé floors. It was designed by Roberto Baciocchi.
Church’s Store Milan at La Rinascente
During this year, the Church’s Group turnover amounts to €61.2 million, with a return to operating profitability and expected further growth in 2003. At this point, there are 48 single-brand points-of-sale, of which 47 are privately owned and 1 is a franchise. The brand is available in 895 multi-brand shops. The group employees a total of 700 people all over the world, with a production centered 95% in England and 5% in Italy for the women’s Collection. The expansion policies of the brand have involved the retail channel and the opening of new single-brand shops in the most important international capitals. The new boutiques are in Milan, in 2001; Paris, on Rue Saint-Honoré; Rome, on via Condotti; St. Moritz, on Palace Arcade, in 2002; and New York, on Madison Avenue, in 2003.
International Expansion
A year later in 2003, an agreement is signed between Prada Group and Equinox. An important private equity investment company to support an ambitious worldwide expansion plan. This plan is based on the development of new and complementary categories of merchandise. An important part of the agreement is the complete autonomy of the Prada Group in design decisions and in the strategy concerning the identity of the brand. According to the agreement, Equinox acquired 45% of the capital of the Church’s Group. Then, later in December 2006, Prada acquired 100% capital of Church’s.
In 2008 the brand started a new development plan to begin opening more international stores. Including Venice, Bologna, Leeds, Edinburgh, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Current Situation
Church’s New Bond Street Boutique
In 26 July 2011 church’s opened the first store dedicated to the women’s collection in the heart of London’s shopping district, New Bond Street.
Currently, there are 200 single-brand boutiques all over the world. The number of employees is about 2,000.
Bottega Veneta is one of the leading brands in luxury leather goods manufacturing. Read the history of the brand which created the “Intrecciato” technique
Bottega Veneta is one of the leading brands in luxury leather goods manufacturing
Bottega Veneta is the first issue in English that we will continue to publish with the support of Domus Academy. We will continue with more brands and languages, like Chinese.
The Italian luxury goods manufacturer of bags was established in 1967 in Vicenza, Veneto by Michele Taddei and his wife Laura Braggion.
After divorcing Michele, and marrying Vittorio Moltedo, Laura remained the sole owner. The first workshop began in a restored villa in Montebello Vicentino, home to some of the greatest artisans and craftspeople.
The bags, in soft leather and even today all handmade, are typical of the company’s production and have always been highly fashionable. They are known for their noble, elegant and emphasized detail of their leather goods.
They developed a distinctive weaving technique, by taking the intrecciato technique, typically only applied to clothes, and were the first to apply it to leather. After this, their leather goods were considered a delicacy. This was revolutionary, and till this day, is the most recognizable element in the brand DNA.
They are considered a lead representative of Italian quality and elegance with technique passed down through generations.
Clutches.
The first opening in New York
Later, the firm opened a single-brand shop in New York in 1971. It was the first of the Italians to be on Madison Avenue. Clients Jackie Onassis and Mary Tyler Moore helped launch the new brand store.
Twelve more single-brand shops would later open in America, plus boutiques in Paris, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Milan, Rome, Venice, and Florence, along with 35 shops in Japan. In 1998 there was a prêt-à-porter Collection inspired by American sportswear which made its début at Milano Collezioni in October of the following year.
The inside of the Madison Avenue’s store in New York.
Brand Re-launch
In 2001 the company joined the Gucci Group, which a few months later, was acquired by PPR, now known as Kering. They reorganized their management structure and appointed a new creative director, Thomas Maier.
He decided to focus on the artisanal production by using the brands iconic technique of weaving “Intrecciato”. Moreover, he chose to remove the logo from the products. He kept the original brand DNA, but added minimalism and expanded the product range into fine jewelries, sunglasses, and home collections.
Since then, they have turned into a brand that emphasizes the lifestyle. The company had record revenues in 2002, especially in the fourth quarter, when it had a 90.5% increase in comparison to a diminished turnover for the other brands controlled by the Kering Group. In 2003 there was the Début of the unisex sunglasses produced for Bottega Veneta by Sàfilo.
In February 2005, Bottega Veneta presented its first women’s ready-to-wear runway show, and in June 2006, its first men’s runway show.
Bangles.
In April 2006, Bottega Veneta launched its first jewelry line, and started doing interior and furniture design. Later in 2006, the Luxury Institute of New York recognized Bottega Veneta as the most prestigious design house for the richest women of the United States.
In order to maintain their handmade tradition, they collaborated with once Artisa school, Scuola d’Arte Mestieri di Vicenza, and started a new school Scuola della Pelletteria, to educate the new generation of artisans.
New President and CEO
In 2009 Marco Bizzarri becomes the new president and CEO. He made a huge contribution to the economics and strengthened the performance of the company.
Marco Bizzarri.
2 years later, in 2011, turnover reached 6.8 million euros, with a 33.7% increase in one year. Also, profits reached 2 million euro, a 57.1% increase, compared to 2010.
“I am so proud of these numbers. In this way we are able to achieve an incensement of economic growth, but at the same time we kept the quality of our product and manufacturing technique.” – Marco Bizzarri
Then in 2016 the value of the brand officially reached one billion euros.
Current situation
Currently, Bottega Veneta is celebrating their 50th birthday and Maiers 15th anniversary at the house. So, they launched a limited edition collection of handmade bags that represent their heritage in a contemporary way.
Lauren Hutton and Gigi Hadid at the Bottega Veneta’s 50th anniversary party
The brand is performing and their situation is strong. They have 255 directly operated stores, €1.173 millions in revenue, with 40% of their profit coming from Asia Pacific, and seen in thousands of multi-brand stores.
Today, the brand stands for low profile elegance. There are no shiny accessories, or visible logo. Their workshop remains in the original restored villa in Montebello Vicentino.
