9 years after taking over the Harrods department store in London, Pradasphere now revolves back to Earth and lands in Shanghai. From this week onwards, Start Museum, an art gallery in a repurposed train station, has turned itself into a Prada warehouse, or “magazzino”.
Curated by co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, this exhibition focuses on the 110-year history of the brand, especially the ready-to-wear department since its first collection in 1988. The exhibition features over 200 looks and 20 archival bags.
It also includes a recreated Fratelli Prada, the brand’s first boutique in Milan, which was opened in 1913 by Miuccia’s grandfather Mario. Another section included artworks by British artist Damien Hirst. A cinema is also included, showing collaborative films by directors like Ridley Scott and Wes Anderson.
With stars like brand ambassador Li Xian, actress Du Juan and actor Jeff Goldblum attending the opening, the exhibition gained considerable exposure on Weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent. The topic “Prada warehouse stories” (#Prada仓库故事#) garnered 280 million views and “Prada Shanghai exhibition” (#Prada上海大展#) got 220 million.
The exhibition will be open between the 7th of December and January 21st, 2024. It is free to the public and visits can be booked on the brand’s WeChat Mini Program. There have also been plans on the table to have diffused versions of the exhibition in Beijing, Chengdu and at Rong Zhai, a historical manor restored by Prada in Shanghai.
