Why Prada charges $1,700 for bananas on your shirt
The fashion brand is back in the black this year after three years of slipping sales, after it reissued many of its iconic products
Prada’s bowling shirt is so ugly the
New Yorker called wearing it an act of “performance art.” The Frankenstein-style mashup of garish prints, with a flame motif creeping up the bottom, costs $1,200 (Dh4,406) and happens to be the shirt of the summer, sported by actor Jeff Goldblum, rapper Pusha T and street-style bloggers at fashion weeks around the world.
If that price raises eyebrows, consider this: A padded, boxier version with a banana pattern costs $500 more. Why would anyone pay $1,700 for it? Because the Prada banana is the stuff of legend, and if you didn’t know it, the shirt probably isn’t for you.
Prada S.p.A. has returned to growth this year after three years of slipping sales and a collapse in profit. It’s thanks to an effort to reinforce Prada’s unique brand identity. The label has reissued its most iconic products, including nylon belt bags, blockheeled loafers, comicbook images and even more recent successes like the banana print.
Commenting on firsthalf results, chairman Carlo Mazzi said Prada was working to “adapt to rapidly changing times and interpret the spirit of new generations without losing sight of our roots.”
Miuccia Prada, the creative director, majority shareholder and co-chief executive officer, has been using her ugly-chic designs to market insider cool for decades. From stiff, pea-green shift dresses to $700 sandals, Prada built a $3.5 billion business dressing people in clothes designed to make them look interesting or cool rather than rich or beautiful. The items don’t always look like much to the untrained eye, but for the fashion set, wearing a look from the Prada catwalk sends a powerful signal: you’re in the know.
The banana motif harks back to a 2011 show that underlined Prada’s ability to set the fashion agenda. It proposed an improbable mix of strictly tailored pencil skirts, ruffles and tropical prints, with smears of blinding highlighter hues. Within a few months the collection had landed on the covers of more than a dozen top magazines — sported by the likes of Amanda Seyfried, singer Robyn and
Vogue editor Anna Wintour — and banana earrings, leggings and blouses invaded retailers from the upmarket Harvey Nichols to the Topshop chain.
“Prada is adapting to rapidly changing times and interpreting the spirit of new generations without losing sight of our roots.” CARLO MAZZI | Chairman