>> Prada Could Become Even More of a Family Affair —Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli wants you to know that he and wife Miuccia Prada are both in good “physical and psychological shape,” but their 19 and 20-year-old sons Giulio and Lorenzo, who Miuccia doesn't like to talk about by name, could be joining the company at some point. “But if they do, they will start out as warehouse keepers.” He also mentioned that upgrading Prada's website is a major priority: "Ideally, I’d like to sell clothes online that aren’t in stores yet and make them look catchy, not like a catalog." [WWD]
Prada
The Word on Prada Spring 2010
>> The Spring 2010 Prada show is starting shortly, and already details are rolling in. The set evokes black-and-white film stills, and the show is apparently all about the beach, with silk palm tree and beach scene-printed mini shorts and jackets, clear jeweled jelly shoes and dresses, and low side ponytails and glossy red lips.
Update 1: A first look from the buyer's show. [IGriese Twitter]
Update 2: A rumor is going around that the press show is starting an hour late because Anna Wintour wanted to introduce Roger Federer, who she brought to Prada, to Giorgio Armani beforehand. [Christina Binkley Twitter]
Update 3: More details: "Shorn off clothes . . . volume sillhouettes, florals." [Christina Binkley Twitter]
Update 4: Lindsay Wixson walked (she opened), and apparently Sasha Pivovarova and Ymre Stiekema didn't. [TFS, TFS, TFS]
Update 5: Fabrics were neoprene, and crystals hung from the heels, the plastic bags, and the finale dresses. [Joe Zee Twitter, Joe Zee Twitter]
>> Cavalli Loses Minority Stake Deal; Prada Postpones Loan Payment —After three years of speculation, Roberto Cavalli almost had us convinced that he was ready to sell a minority stake in his company. The deal he was working on with Clessidra — which was expected to be finalized by the end of September — fell through over the weekend after the private equity firm disagreed with Cavalli over the value of his business. Meanwhile at Prada, Miuccia and Patrizio Bertelli now have until 2012 to pay off $450 million after lenders agreed to an extension, a move that alleviates any pressure to sell a stake in Prada over their desired, but so far elusive, initial public offering. [WWD, WWD]
Prada Fall 2009 Lookbook: Doodles, Collages, and Head Substitutes
>> Replacing models' heads seems to have become a thing: Yesterday, we were talking about Donna Karan placing Toni Garrn's head on other models' bodies for her Fall 2009 ads, and today, Prada posted their Fall 2009 lookbook — and the full set of their Fall 2009 ads — with Meghan Collison's head replaced by a wolf's in one picture and a spiked sphere in another, Lara Stone's head supplanted by a set of red blocks, and various other models' faces subsituted with doodles and collages.
>> ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —The first photo from Prada's Fall 2009 campaign has leaked, and instead of horses involved as previously reported, the setting is four girls — Prada favorite Ymre Stiekema, Katlin Aas, Julia Hafstrom, and Kendra Spears, who is said to be the main focus — in a boat, surrounded by water; this particular image is supposedly one of the "most interesting," according to someone who claims to have seen the full set by Steven Meisel. The Miu Miu Fall 2009 campaign, which has yet to appear, will reportedly have a strong androgynous theme. [TFS, TFS]
Stefano Gabbana Talks Dolce & Gabbana Price Cuts While Wearing Crocs
>> While Prada is talking to banks about renegotiating its debt to free up cash for an aggressive store expansion instead of taking recent offers to sell a minority stake, Dolce & Gabbana are lowering their prices between 10 and 20 percent.
Stefano Gabbana informed WWD of the initiative, which begins with the Spring 2010 season for both Dolce & Gabbana and D&G, and is intended to be long-term, while "wearing a white shirt, frayed khaki Bermuda shorts and Crocs sandals." In order to uphold creativity and quality while achieving the drop in price, the designers have diminished their usual selection of hundreds of fabrics to dozens in a more far-ranging palette and made construction of their garments simpler.
>> THE MODELIZER —New modeling faces are rolling into New York, trying to make a dent in time for resort season, and one girl who's been getting a lot of attention, particularly because she's new on the Prada rotation — she's said to have shot an upcoming (presumedly Fall 2009) Miu Miu ad campaign with Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, and just closed Prada's resort show yesterday — is 18-year-old Hannah Holman from small town Utah. [Models.com]
Miuccia Prada Digs Up Clashing Vintage Prints for Cruise 2010
>> Miuccia Prada recently talked about how she felt that one of her contributions to fashion was the idea of going retro: "One thing I did in my work was to go back to different eras . . . it was happening back in the '80s and I think I was one of the first to do it. In the beginning, it was not even thinkable, so it was difficult, but now it is still in fashion, that kind of retro stuff." That concept must still be on her mind, because she sent out a Cruise 2010 collection today full of brightly colored vintage prints.
>> ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL —Hedi Slimane partnered up with Prada to shoot their Spring 2009 menswear campaign, and it sounds like he's been hired again. He was spotted scouting at Coachella last month — which is a normal practice of his — but now, word is he had a specific client in mind: Prada. [COACD Twitter]
>> INSIDER WIRE —There were a lot of designers missing from last night's festivities — Karl Lagerfeld, Stefano Gabbana, Domenico Dolce, Christopher Bailey among them — but even more notable was the lack of certain designers on the red carpet: Balenciaga, Prada and Miu Miu weren't represented at all (though Dasha Zhukova wore vintage Prada), and typical heavyweight Giorgio Armani had one sole wearer — Claire Danes. Meanwhile, Phi emerged as a dark horse — watch out Proenza Schouler, Andreas Melbostad is taking over your crowd — Erin Wasson, Natasha Poly, Lauren Santo Domingo, and Vanessa Traina all chose the label last night. [Style File]




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