this? perhaps?
The Designer
by Michael Specter March 15, 2004
ABSTRACT: PROFILES of fashion designer Miuccia Prada. Last month, days before Miuccia Prada was scheduled to present her 2004 fall collection of women’s clothing, in Milan, she was feeling anxious. It was Valentine’s Day and her husband, Patrizio Bertelli, the demanding Tuscan who is the chief executive of the global group of companies known as Prada Group, was in Florence. Prada was struggling, as she often does, to be both avant-garde and commercially successful. Nearly every season since 1988, when she introduced her first line of women’s clothing, Prada has shown an astonishing ability to create trends. Lists some of these trends. This year, she was inspired by computers. Describes her workroom at Prada headquarters and her interaction with her design director, Fabio Zambernardi. She has a complex about fashion being “superficial and dumb.”
Prada doesn’t sew, embroider, sketch, etc. Instead, she surrounds herself with talented people who translate her themes, concepts, and taste into clothes. This unusual approach has made her one of the most influential designers in the world, and one of the most powerful women in Europe. Prada Group now owns controlling interests in Azzedine Alaia, Jil Sander, Helmut Lang, etc. Anyone who wanders into one of Prada’s 165 stores would have to acknowledge that she’s changed the way people think about clothes. Prada’s clothes can be odd and, at times, even purposefully ugly. She is a handsome “sexily dowdy” woman of 53 with her own distinct style. Her paternal grandfather, Mario, made luxury leather-goods for the Italian royal family in the early 1900s, and Prada has been exposed to luxury as a way of life since she was born. As a teen-ager, she rebelled by dressing in an eccentric–even bizarre–manner. She received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Milan , and began training to be a mime. Describes her interest in feminism. In 1978, she met Patrizio Bertelli; in 1987, they were married. She claims it’s Bertelli who has pushed the company’s ambitions forward. In 1993, she launched her secondary line, Miu Miu, and began a men’s clothing line. In 1997, she introduced a sportswear line. Describes their extensive art collection, which is housed at the Fondazione Prada, in Milan. Mentions foundation director Germano Celant. The couple’s latest enthusiasm is architecture. In the last few years, they’ve opened two major stores–“epicenters”–in New York and Tokyo. The New York store, in SoHo, was designed by Rem Koolhaas. Bertelli considers shopping a sort of religion for the modern global age. Describes the SoHo store. This summer, another epicenter will open in Los Angeles, and discussions are underway for a fourth, in Beijing or Shanghai. Describes a dinner at Prada’s apartment, in central Milan, on the ground floor of the building where she was born and raised. Mentions her two teen-age sons. Discusses Prada and Bertelli’s strange, volcanic relationship. Prada is “all intellect and ideas,” while Bertelli “brings it all down to earth.” Refers to Bertelli’s comment that most fashion houses “do fine without a creative director.” Mentions Prada’s best friend, Manuela Pavesi, who shares her feminism. Discusses Prada’s concerns about a woman’s role in marriage and motherhood. Writer joins Prada at Dino de Laurentii’s studios to watch the filming of a fake reality-television show (“Comizi di Non Amore”) conceived by artist Francesco Vezzoli and funded by Prada’s foundation. Mentions director Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1964 documentary “Comizi d’Amore.” At the end of the 1990s, Bertelli decided to challenge Gucci and L.V.M.H. as a top luxury-goods house. Describes how the company began buying up major interests in various fashion houses. In order to finance the purchases, Prada Group decided to go public on September, 2001; but after September 11th, the market for luxury goods collapsed. By the end of 2001, Prada’s debts–$1.7 billion–equaled its sales. The debts remain, but Prada’s net profit will rise more than 30% this year, cutting their debts in half. Mentions Miuccia’s concern about taking the company public. The day before her 2004 fall runway show, her anxiety had lifted. Describes the show and its glowing reviews. Prada claims she still doesn’t understand fashion.
The new yorker.
, and she's also one of my favorite designers. 
