Prada expects $111 million annual boost from new Milan museum

Prada projects that its new permanent exhibition in Milan will generate 100 million euros in additional annual revenue.

The 111 million dollar figure comes from the Pradasphere display, which anchors the brand's expansion inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele shopping arcade. The exhibition is currently sold out through the coming year. Lorenzo Bertelli, the chief group marketing officer for Prada Group, stated that the company might surpass this financial target. He described the museum as a multiplier for the brand's commercial performance.

Fratelli Prada was founded in 1913 by Mario and Martino Prada in the same Galleria location. The brothers designed the company's signature inverted triangle logo. The new exhibition traces the brand's history through eight compact rooms. It features items such as a pleated evening bag with a devil head clasp, a detail that appeared on the Spring-Summer 2024 runway. Miuccia Prada, the third-generation leader, is represented by nylon bags she designed in the 1970s and a chocolate brown opera coat from her 1988 debut collection.

Bertelli noted that customers who visit the museum approach the retail stores with a different mindset. He said these shoppers often return to the boutiques to make additional purchases after walking through the exhibition spaces. Bertelli, 38, is the son of Miuccia Prada and Prada Group chairman Patrizio Bertelli. He serves as executive chairman of Versace and has been identified as the future leader of the Prada Group. He said that curiosity and fun drive the creative direction of the business, even when experiments do not yield immediate financial returns.

The exhibition includes a prototype spacesuit developed through Prada's collaboration with Axiom Space. This technology stems from materials expertise gained during the 1990s through the Luna Rossa America’s Cup sailing team. Prada helped design the suit's outer layer to withstand extreme heat and cold, as well as the inner layer for thermal regulation. The suit is intended for use by astronauts during NASA’s Artemis IV mission, which is targeted for 2028.

Access to the exhibition is limited to 20 visitors per hour by appointment. The space is designed to evolve over time. Prada's footprint in the Galleria now spans eight floors. This includes the new exhibition, a private salon, an apartment, the Marchesi 1824 pastry shop, and the Osservatorio Fondazione Prada contemporary art space. The womenswear boutique occupies the original premises of the 1913 founding.

Visitors conclude their tour in a hidden underground passage that links the menswear and womenswear stores. This area displays lesser-known items from the brand's archives, including a chandelier dress made for Baz Luhrmann’s film The Great Gatsby. Luca Missio, an architect from Udine, Italy, said he recognized the store models and displays from his visits in Tokyo and New York. He described the experience as lovely.