PRADA & MIU MIU
 
The fashion business runs deep in Miuccia Prada's veins, but the former mime performer and political science PhD seemed an unlikely successor to her family's luxury leather goods company started by her grandfather in 1913. Nonetheless, the reluctant Miuccia assumed control of the Milan-based family business in 1978 and turned Prada into one of the most exciting names in fashion. Her sleek, black nylon handbags created a flurry among fashionistas in 1985 and paved the way for her highly acclaimed ready-to-wear collection introduced four years later. Prada's precise, clean lines were embraced by the fashion elite as well as celebrities such as Uma Thurman, who turned heads at the 1995 Academy Awards in a dreamy lavender Prada ensemble. With a less expensive sister line, Miu Miu as well as boutiques around the world, this mime gone mogul has an estimated fortune of $1.4 billion and was recently named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the 30 Most Powerful Women in Europe.

   
   
   



 
  Spring 2004
     
 
     
  Miu Miu   Neiman Marcus Online  
  Not available      
         
  miumiu.com