Prada : What Went Wrong?

[Reggie63]

I don't care for Rita Ora, so whatever. There is however, another recent development that I do take issue with. I saw a few clips of The Kardashians and I spotted several Prada products being featured prominently. Is that really what it's come down to? Advertising in reality television? Absolutely pitiful.

Sadly, as with so many things the 2020s, seems to be the new normal.

 

[Frederic01]

On another topic, I don't understand why Prada cancelled its Cruise/Resort and Pre-Fall collections in favour of doing these cheap and lowly pop-ups filled with low-grade merchandise. Like, please, someone explain! Even Bottega Veneta has Cruise/Pre-Fall collections, and they are a company 1/5th the size of Prada!


PRADA

 

[Karl Boucher]

On another topic, I don't understand why Prada cancelled its Cruise/Resort and Pre-Fall collections in favour of doing these cheap and lowly pop-ups filled with low-grade merchandise. Like, please, someone explain! Even Bottega Veneta has Cruise/Pre-Fall collections, and they are a company 1/5th the size of Prada!


PRADA

What a horrible decor! There is nothing desirable in it

This brand needs an extreme makeover.

 

[Phuel]

On another topic, I don't understand why Prada cancelled its Cruise/Resort and Pre-Fall collections in favour of doing these cheap and lowly pop-ups filled with low-grade merchandise. Like, please, someone explain! Even Bottega Veneta has Cruise/Pre-Fall collections, and they are a company 1/5th the size of Prada!

Cheap is exactly why they’re doing this. It’s so much cheaper for these corporations to invest and produce this basic trash than a show’s production with real designs would. This all looks like Prada Outlet/ Target x Prada level of consumer merch. Just amazing how this brand was the epitome of discrete branding: Now that once expensive, discrete logo is as big and as cheap-looking as the early-2000s knock-offs.

You know, I watched this case of The People’s Court (probably still up on youtube), and the litigants were 2 middle-age women who lived in trailers, selling and buying used Prada's Candy… LOL… And nothing against Rita, but she’s likely more known to the masses as a judge on X factor/Britain’s Got Talent etc trash than a recording artist. So maybe that’s what she’s going to be the face of: Prada Candy line— of which is very accessible to the general public.

At this point, Prada’s prestige is as low as it’s ever been. Its pricepoint may be at its highest ever, but its image is right next to Michael Kors to the masses. Makes sense to cast Rita these days :shrugs:

 

[blueorchid]

I have to admit, I've never been a Prada girl (sue me), but the title of this thread makes me laugh every time I see it bumped up.

 

[TERIMIKO]

In recent years, Prada has come under fire for a number of reasons. Firstly, the brand has been accused of being elitist and out of touch with its customers. Secondly, Prada's designs have been criticized for being too experimental and avant-garde, alienating many potential customers. Finally, the company has been embroiled in a number of scandals, including allegations of racism and sexism. As a result of all these factors, Prada's sales have suffered in recent years, and the brand's once-stellar reputation has been tarnished.

 

[LadyJunon]

In recent years, Prada has come under fire for a number of reasons. Firstly, the brand has been accused of being elitist and out of touch with its customers. Secondly, Prada's designs have been criticized for being too experimental and avant-garde, alienating many potential customers. Finally, the company has been embroiled in a number of scandals, including allegations of racism and sexism. As a result of all these factors, Prada's sales have suffered in recent years, and the brand's once-stellar reputation has been tarnished.

Moral of the story to young designers: If you start a heavily aesthetical luxury brand, you can either stay small (à la Dries) and keep your identity or become a large company (like Prada, Dior...) and eventually a slave to the fashion zeltgeist.

 

[Lola701]

Moral of the story to young designers: If you start a heavily aesthetical luxury brand, you can either stay small (à la Dries) and keep your identity or become a large company (like Prada, Dior...) and eventually a slave to the fashion zeltgeist.

Being a slave to the fashion zeitgeist is not a bad thing if you are pushing or driving fashion forward.
The problem for a brand like Prada is that at times of troubles, instead of reaffirming their codes or pushing their creativity, they took the expected road instead of being the iconoclasts they were.

Dries sells fashion. His business model was created to support that entity. When you sell luxury, the business model is not the same…

What is sad about a brand like Prada is that they dealt with the crisis of 2008 with such strength and creativity. That period was super interesting because the industry was hit but everybody answered by pushing the creativity and reaffirming the codes. We can all agree that between 2008 and 2012, Miuccia delivered a quite impressive run of hits.

It’s sad to see that at the time where she faced adversity some seasons later, the only answer was logos…Because it’s a very short-minded type of vision.

 

[Drusilla_]

The late-2010s over-reliance on logos has always puzzled me tbh - it flies in the face of a lot of Prada's positioning and appeal (even when framed as an "ironic" play on things...I think we can agree the recent slapping of logos on all the things has gone beyond that).

The thing is, Miuccia still has the ability to move the needle - the vogue for those huge Alice bands and hair accessories towards the end of the decade? Started with her in 2018. The square necked puff sleeve tops? Her in 2016. And she can still do it, the frenzy over that Miu Miu set just proves it. But it's just not translating into anything consistent at Prada, beyond "slap a logo on it and it'll sell" and compromises on fabrics, apparently - and I say this as someone who really appreciates that Prada used some quality fabrics in the past, eg those treated silks from AW2004, or the Japanese cottons from SS2011.

 

[susseinmcswanny]

I thought they would leave me alone after being taken off the VIC list but they are still pushing me hard to order from this new FW collection. Like they won't shut up!! There's nothing to even just pity buy bc it's all so useless or expensive. That ugly grey big shoulder leather coat from the mens that Kim K wore is like $10k USD lmbo

 

[Drusilla_]

^they have your info, that's sadly how marketing works these days. And the one thing they never let go of is a past customer.

The prices really have become crazy though, at this point they're just hiking it because they can, well beyond inflation etc.

 

[dodencebt]

Does anyone know if Rita Ora is close to someone important at Prada, hence the rumored "face of" contract? She's been wearing custom Prada for nearly 10 years now so it does make sense from a relationship standpoint, although I just cannot associate her brand with the Prada brand even with all the cheapening.

 

[Drusilla_]

I agree, she is rather..... off-brand for Prada. A perfect fit for the likes of Balmain or Versace maybe, but Prada?

 

[Frederic01]

In terms of brand image, this is completely and utterly confusing to me.


PRADA

 

[Mutterlein]

A recent gig gave me a somewhat intimate and earnest interaction with some of the ongoings at Prada. I'll admit, I drank some of the kool-aid and it tasted quite good.

I have the highest respect for Mrs. Prada. She's built the brand into what it is today almost entirely from scratch and she did it her own way. She rewrote the rules. She had a creative mission and she went for it with zero f*cks given. She is a woman with great creative integrity and conviction. And that might be what got her into trouble.

For a long while Prada was always one of the most important collections until... it wasn't.

I think Phoebe Philo's Celine was a huge disruptor for it and a lot of other brands. What was cool one day was suddenly rendered démodé. And then after Phoebe came Demna and Alessandro, and then streetwear took over fashion.

I don't think Mrs. Prada had the right creative and design talent to navigate and keep up with these shifts. Her tendency to be so deliberately contrary didn't give way to provocative or desirable clothing. It just kinda looked silly and dumb. You could see they were trying to appeal to shift but with very miserable results. As one phase led into another, Prada got more and more lost.

I actually think things are getting back on track with Raf Simons. Though I think little of him as a designer, I believe him and Mrs. Prada are two peas in a pod and make a great team.

Again, I'm not talking so much about runway collection, but Prada menswear has improved dramatically since Raf came aboard.

That said, it's interesting to see how much better and more relevant Miu Miu has become since Raf took over more creative responsibilities at Prada.

 

[Drusilla_]

That said, it's interesting to see how much better and more relevant Miu Miu has become since Raf took over more creative responsibilities at Prada.

I liked the last couple of Miu Miu collections before Raf came on board, but I do agree with this. Miuccia's still got it,but the last few years did feel a bit like floundering. And it happens to every brand that dominates the fashion conversation of an era for so long, whether it's Marc Jacobs or Prada. The difference is that these brands have longevity and the people behind them, even if somewhat led astray by business considerations and quests for relevance, at some point knew what they were doing and have survived multiple trend cycles over decades.I don't know if I can say the same for trendy designers of the present fashion generation, e.g. Jacquemus.

 

[Frederic01]

Did Prada have another price increase? I could have sworn these leather jackets were in the $7000-$8000 price range only months ago?

Is it just me or have they completely lost the plot with their pricing? $9100 for a leather jacket at Prada is ridiculous. Something like this used to be $2000 to $3000 only a few years ago. Seriously.


PRADA.COM/

 

[Olaffo]

Yes, they have and they will have further increase in upcoming months - my SA is telling me to get stuff now bc FW will be insanely expensive (as if I cared at all). They want to reach 3-4 billion soon so that's why we have Raf, price increases, merchandise instead of collection etc. That jacket is fugly and expensive but what is really outrageous is knitted printed polo for men for around GBP 1000 - even BRIONI or LORO PIANA or HERMES are cheaper without sneaking 1 % of polyester.

 

[Fulton St Critique]

Prada: What Went Wrong? Apparently, not so much per the release of the financial results for the half year of 2022.

Revenues experienced a 22% YOY growth, retail sales 26% YOY growth. Gross Margin came in at 77.7%!!!!! Leather goods and ready to wear +18% and +32% respectively, footwear saw the greatest increase at 39%.

Great results for Prada, I am happy to see the company is experiencing success with their turnaround plans.

 

[YohjiAddict]

I mean with all those price increases they’ve been making. It is to be expected.

I think this thread was initially started to figure out how Prada went from being the center of fashion creation-wise to just another brand. Right now I don’t believe they will regain their godlike status, even with all the money in the world.