Miuccia Prada

My general reaction to most fashion-focused coffee table books is mixed at best; most have great potential, but few end up satisfying me with a properly broad range of material, quality writing, or well-planned layouts. This weighty book by Prada is clearly one of the exceptions, as it had few sections which I was inclined to skip and even though I finished wanting more I was not dissatisfied with what I was given. It gives a brief (but well illustrated) overview of the development of Prada, discussing major topics such as product production and branding, before moving on to cover a broader range of subjects than just the clothes (a shortfall in many other books assuredly). I loved that they included a lengthy section on the advertising campaigns (which are rarely collected outside independant magazine subscribers, and a huge shortfall when conducting research on any fashion house as these are the projected images of the brand that the public see, rather than the rawer material of the runway shows which take much of the online press), and was pleasantly surprised that such a large proportion was dedicated to the projects of Prada outside of the fashion world - store architecture, sporting competitions, and experimental films. The inclusion of this broad subject matter, which all hinge to support the greater themes of the House of Prada, make this one of the most inclusive and therefore satisfying fashion tomes that I have read.… (mais)