Fashion house Prada started out as a leather goods shop established by the Prada brothers in 1913. Over a hundred years later, the Prada family still controls the company, with the brand’s most famous products being their luxury handbags and shoes.
The high-end luxury brand aims to cultivate an air of refinement, and their logo is a major marketing strategy to that effect.
The Prada logo, as opposed to logos of other luxury fashion houses like Louis Vuitton, is not used on all their products, and when used, is kept minimal and small. Generally, the Prada logo is only printed on the brand’s small tags, buckles, and clasps, but while the logo may not be extremely visible, it still makes an impact. One that many fashion branding agencies strive to emulate in their work.
The modern Prada logo design is actually just one small element from the entire, original logo used by Prada earlier. Originally, the logo was an oval design, outlined in knotted rope with an Italian coat of arms at the top. Enclosed inside the outline of the rope was the signature Prada text. Beneath this text, the logo said “Milano DAL 1913.”
This old logo is still featured in some advertising, branding, and decorating for the company. The company’s handbags also feature a small triangle that contains the brand name and the crest of the original logo. Most of Prada's logo history consists of removing superfluous design elements from the original logo.
Established logo design companies often opt for traditional emblems as unifying design elements, even in brand projects with a more modest pedigree than that of Prada's.
A lot of the design for the original logo at Prada comes from an Italian Royal House.
In 1919, Prada received the honor of being the “Official Supplier to the Italian Royal Household.” This honor gave the company the right to use the House of Savoy’s traditional heraldry. Both the coat of arms and the knotted rope in the logo are official designs of the House of Savoy. Prada’s main competitor at the time, Gucci, did not have any sort of royal patronage. Including the royal symbols in the logo helped Prada to further establish a reputation for quality and high-class designs.
The new logo is an understated and elegant logo, a simple black design that is based on designer Miuccia Prada’s preference for minimalism and neutral shades. The logo design for Prada simply reads, “PRADA” in bold, black, and uppercase letters.
The logo’s font is made up of contrastingly thin and thick strokes. The font is on the heavier side but is well-balanced and easy to read. The black color of the text adds to the charm of the logo and contrasts excellently with the white background. The logo is simple, elegant, and has a timeless appeal. It is also rooted in heritage and is scalable and flexible.
The logo for Prada references the company’s proud past as an Italian leather supplier for royalty. Its updated, more streamlined version also manages to uphold the brand’s reputation for simple, elegant, and quality products. Whether it is over a storefront or on a bag clasp, the logo evokes minimalism and a classic style. The fashion house’s logo design is unique, memorable, yet simplistic, grounded in both its heritage as well as brand values.
Prada is an iconic logo design in the E-commerce & Retail, Fashion & Beauty and Luxury industries.
