Prada's Pradasphere Exhibition in Milan Fully Booked Into New Year as Brand Targets 100 Million Euros

Prada's first permanent exhibition about its own history is fully booked into the new year, and the company expects the Milan complex that houses it to add 100 million euros (about $111 million) in annual revenue, according to an Associated Press report published Wednesday.

The exhibition, called Pradasphere, opened to the public on September 23 on the piano nobile, the first-floor level, of Prada Galleria, the brand's expanded eight-floor site in Milan's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade, Vogue reported. The arcade is where brothers Mario and Martino Prada opened Fratelli Prada in 1913.

A Revenue Target Tied to Heritage

Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada Group's chief group marketing officer, told the AP that "the exhibition is a multiplier." He said the 100 million euro revenue target for the Galleria expansion could be surpassed.

According to the AP, Bertelli said visitors tend to spend more after walking through the brand's history, sometimes returning to make an additional purchase after touring the exhibition's eight spaces. "We see that the customers who go through the museum have a completely different perspective of the brand and also they browse the store with completely different minds," he told the news agency.

The AP described the 38-year-old Bertelli as the future leader of Prada Group. He is the son of creative director Miuccia Prada and group chairman Patrizio Bertelli, and his roles include executive chairman of Versace.

Access is limited. The AP reported that only 20 visitors are admitted each hour, by appointment. Prada Group's announcement said the exhibition is on view upon registration.

What the Exhibition Shows

Prada Group said in its September 15 announcement that Pradasphere traces "more than a century of creativity from the 1913 founding of Fratelli Prada to the present day," drawing on archive artifacts and the company's work in art, architecture, film, culture and sport, many of them on view for the first time. Earlier traveling versions of Pradasphere were staged in London and Hong Kong in 2014 and in Shanghai in 2023, the company said.

Vogue reported that the route begins with Fratelli Prada's original travel and luxury goods, including fitted cases, metal-clad brushes, luggage tags, purse clasps, branded tissue paper and the 1922 royal warrant that allowed the house to add the Savoy coat of arms to its mark. The AP noted that the founding brothers designed the brand's inverted triangle logo.

The next section covers the period after Miuccia Prada, Mario Prada's granddaughter, joined the business. According to the AP, it features the nylon bags she began designing in the 1970s and a chocolate brown opera coat from her first runway collection, presented in 1988. The AP said the displays also include the 2012 Flame heels and the Formica tile prints associated with the label's "ugly chic" reputation, as well as a pleated evening bag with a devil-head clasp that appeared on the Spring-Summer 2024 runway.

Italian magazine Grazia reported that the exhibition is organized in three chapters, translated as Origins, Evolution and Perspectives, with the last chapter presenting Prada as a cultural platform through Fondazione Prada, collaborations with artists, architects and filmmakers, and sports projects such as Luna Rossa.

From Sailing to a Moon Suit

The exhibition ends with a prototype spacesuit. Bertelli told the AP that investments in sport and engineering, including the Luna Rossa America's Cup sailing team formed in the 1990s, helped build the materials expertise that led to Prada's collaboration with Axiom Space.

The AP reported that Prada helped design the suit's outer layer, which is engineered to withstand extreme thermal conditions, and its high-performance inner layer, which focuses on thermal regulation and comfort. The suit is intended for astronauts walking on the moon on NASA's Artemis IV mission, targeted for 2028, according to the AP and Vogue.

"Curiosity and having fun is what drives my parents," Bertelli told the AP, adding that experimentation does not always bring immediate financial success.

Eight Floors in the Galleria

Pradasphere is one part of the larger Prada Galleria project. Prada Group said the complex includes an expanded Prada Donna boutique on the original Fratelli Prada site, whose underground level was enlarged to nearly double its display space, and the Prada Uomo store, now linked to the women's store by a new underground passage.

That tunnel, called the Passaggio Segreto, holds a display of lesser-known episodes from the company's history, Prada Group said. Vogue reported that its items include a crystal dress from Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby," LG Prada touchscreen phones from 2008 and vintage show invitations. The AP reported that most visitors end their tour there.

The complex also contains the Marchesi 1824 pastry shop, which Prada Group acquired in 2014 according to Vogue; a second-floor Studio for appointment-only shopping; an invitation-only Appartamento featuring works by photographer Andreas Gursky; and the Osservatorio Fondazione Prada art space on the top levels, according to the company.

In an interview with Vogue published at the September preview, Bertelli said the exhibition would keep changing. "The museum space will continue to evolve, because we have discovered so many things we want to share," he said. He also told Vogue: "This is where everything started for Prada, so it has a sentimental legacy for the family."

Vogue reported that Prada operates 423 directly operated boutiques and reported group revenues of 5.7 billion euros last year.

Sources

• Associated Press: Prada's new Milan exhibition turns a century of fashion into fresh discoveries
• Prada Group: Prada presents Prada Galleria
• Vogue: Lorenzo Bertelli on the New Prada Galleria
• Grazia: Pradasphere at Prada Galleria, Milan
• ABC News (AP wire): Prada's new Milan exhibition