Our ‘carefull’ dissection can start with the logo itself. A family name, even as good as this one, can fall flat if it looks clumsy or ineffectual. But what a beautiful logo this is. A customized font in caps. It speaks boldness and strength but in a very exacting and refined way. The slender leg of the ‘A’ juxtaposed against the broad stroke of the right leg slashing by it. The serif type rooting it in a classic tradition but the adjustments of proportion and line give it a thoroughly modern feel. Notice how it has a nice old money type of ’self-assuredness’ standing alone in the logo at the top but also feels completely modern and slick in the Prada Sport logo at left. An ability to have presence in many variations. A truly great example of a brand identity.

Of course a brand identity is either reinforced or crippled by other factors such as its advertising, the design sensibility of its collection, its logo licensing agreements, etc. Every Kate Moss wannabe in some Tom Ford black tissue-paper slip shudders a little and takes another gulp of chardonnay when they recall being a kid and seeing their friends pudgy grandmother in a velour Gucci sweat suit (complete with sun visor), all brown, green and red with thousands of interlocking ‘Gs’… and bits of cat hair. In all of these respects Miuccia Prada has excelled as a most astute manager. Her clothing has been perennially at the forefront of fashion. Her clothes have a rich modernity easily carrying the weight of tradition with superior quality and workmanship.
Prada advertising campaigns are at turns sexy, aloof and quizzical. All carefully thought through for maximum effect most assuredly.
Prada’s retail spaces and international building campaign also figure very heavily in the identity of the Prada brand. This will be covered in a future chapter but it is safe to say at the moment that this is yet another stroke of genius by Ms. Prada.
A final thought for this entry would be the consideration of the ‘offspring’ of the brand. How the brand grows and develops will definitely reflect back on the the brand itself. As mentioned earlier, Prada Sport is a branch of the Prada brand, smartly outfitting the fabulous of the world for their ’sporting’ activities. Clean, modern and well designed. Prada Sport’s sponsorship of America’s Cup yacht racing teams is the perfect advertisement, the red Prada stripe plastered onto the bow of an ultra sleek, ultra expensive yacht. The red stripe, of course, is the smartest thing about the Prada Sport brand. Modern, bold and slick, the red stripe can be seen on a sleeve, the back of a shoe, hat or whatever from 100 meters.
Miu Miu is the other major branch of the Prada brand family although it has become something of its own entity itself. Taking advantage of another family name, Miuccia created Miu Miu to be the quirkier, more whimsical, less reverent of tradition younger sister to Prada. Miu Miu has its very own very nice logo but that will have to be talked about at another time. For today, though, it is worth it to agree that the Miu Miu brand takes from, builds upon and gives back by reinforcing the image of the Prada brand.
Our last question is… how does she find the time?