Patrizio Bertelli, the husband and business partner of Miuccia Prada is well known to be difficult, hot tempered, and explosive (to put it mildly) On one ocassion he smashed a mirror in a new Miu Miu store that was being finished in Manhattan because he was unhappy with its decor. On another, he enjoyed breaking the taillights of several cars that were parked in the wrong spaces of Prada's parking lot.
He is not all temper tantrums and public destruction, though. He is one half of the mastermind behind the world-renowned and highly respected fashion house Prada. As creative and traditional as Miuccia is, he is entrepreneurial and business-minded. As Miuccia herself puts it, "He's far more of a provocateur than I am. With him, you're always questioning yourself. He and I have a little rule of three. If he says something more than three times, then I need to think about it. Sometimes I don't want to listen, but I do."
Prada has always been known for their high quality, luxurious handbags, classically tailored clothes, and fashion forward shoes. Today they are a household name for high-end fashion goods, and have managed to keep the majority of their items Italian-made, which is no small feat in a global market where most fashion houses are quickly moving production to Asia, Eastern Europe, and North Africa. Bertelli, as always the more realistic and economical of the two, has pushed Prada to allow some production to go to Vietnam, Turkey and Romani saying that consumers should learn to trust a brand name, regardless of where it's made. He believes a tag stating "made by Prada" should be considered just as valuable and trustworthy as one that states "made in Italy".
Prada also avoided the e-commerce route longer than any other major fashion houses, only starting to offer their goods online as recently as 2007. Miuccia believes exposure by fashion houses such as Burberry, urging customers to post pictures of themselves in their brands is ridiculous. She doesn't beat around the bush about this subject: "It's bullsh-t. Why does showing a photo of someone wearing a trench coat online mean being open to the world? What's that got to do with anything?" But, as seems to be the case the majority of the time, the two disagree about this subject as well. Bertelli feels "The Internet is democratic, and so you can't give it an elitist response. Miuccia is always moralistic about these things."
Despite their differences (or perhaps because of their differences) they have built a successful business empire and a loving family. Coming from humble beginnings, Bertelli started a small accessories company due to the demand for quality leather belts for men in Italy in the late '60s. Flared-bottom, Levi's jeans were all the rage then, even in Italy, but the thick belts that were required to wear with them were still luxury items. Bertelli bought some leather along with some brass to make the buckle and took it to a local cobbler who was able to make the necessary belts for about 4% of the cost of those that were offered on the market. When the trade fair in Milan took place in 1977, Bertelli had a mid-sized accessory business that now included handbags. There he met Miuccia Prada, an upper-class woman from Milan who wore Yves Saint Laurent skirts, studied theatre and was well spoken in politics. She ran the leather-goods business her grandfather had opened in 1913 and soon hired the loudmouthed, Tuscan entrepreneurial Bertelli. Shortly thereafter, they moved in together in a flat in Milan.
As their family grew, so did their company. Prada grew in the 1990's from a niche fashion house to a $1.5 billion luxury-goods conglomerate, soon buying out Azzedine Alaia, Helmut Lang, Jil Sander, and a stake in Fendi. Bertelli's temper caused problems among the newly absorbed design houses, and caused Jil Sander and Helmut Lang to leave the fashion house due to explosive disagreements, and design differences. When hard times and a slow economy hit, Prada offloaded Helmut lang and Jil Sander, and they were forced to sell 5 percent of their company to an Italian bank. "We made mistakes. With Jil Sander and Helmut Lang, I would say it's 50 percent our fault and 50 percent theirs," but Bertelli remains optimistic by continuing on to say, "But now we are rid of these brands, and things are good." They still area globl fashion conglomerate that includes Prada, Miu Miu and shoemakers Church's, and Car Shoe.
As with every partnership, whether personal or business, it is important to be able to see the big picture. When Miuccia feels she has put on an inspiring fashion show, re-introducing one of her favorite jackets into the line, Bertelli complains about the "big city" setting, stating "I've been thinking about the 24-hour city thing. It's like the negation of privacy and intimacy, isn't it?" After all these years Miuccia has learned to shrug comments like these off, and replies with a simple "Don't get philosophical on me now," and bolts back to her receiving line of journalists, friends, and groupies.
Whether you consider Patrizio Bertelli a maniacle genius, a raving lunatic, or the devil himself, one thing is certain. Even with his violent temper, his obssession with detail, and his larger than life expectations he has been the perfect match for Miuccia Prada throughout the years. No one describes their life-long partnership better than Miuccia herself, "He is the mind, we are the arms."
I guess the old adage is true- opposites attract. And in the case of Prada, opposites not only attract eachother, but millions of fans all over the globe.
Ma'Salaama and Happy Shopping!
Fashionably Yours,
The (Prada-loving, opposite-attracting) Mujahada in Prada
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