The Prada fashion house was founded in 1913.
Mario Prada and his brother Martino established the business in Milan under the name Fratelli Prada, meaning “Prada Brothers.” Its first store opened in the prestigious Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, where the company sold leather goods, travel accessories, handbags, steamer trunks, jewelry, and other luxury items.
The early Prada was primarily a leather and travel-goods business, not yet the global ready-to-wear label associated with the name today. In 1919, the firm became an official supplier to the Italian Royal Household. That distinction allowed it to use elements of the House of Savoy’s heraldic imagery in its branding.
The house’s modern fashion identity developed much later. Miuccia Prada, Mario’s granddaughter, took control in 1978 and introduced influential nylon bags before expanding into clothing. Prada’s first women’s ready-to-wear collection followed in 1988, helping transform a long-established Milanese accessories company into an international fashion house. The year 1913 refers to the company’s founding, not Miuccia Prada’s arrival or the first runway collection.