The evolution of Prada Space branding.

   Jooyun Kim's 
Spacebranding vol.15

“Space is like advertising in brand communication”

<Aggressive space branding.>
Prada, which succeeded in making an impression on the public with an unconventional and new brand image with the Prada Epic Center in New York in 2001, is expanding its aggressive space branding activities worldwide. In 2003, Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron introduced their second Prada Epicenter as a future-oriented space image in Tokyo Aoyama.

Tokyo Prada Epicenter from https://divisare.com/projects/336109-herzog-de-meuron-johannes-marburg-prada-aoyama

Tokyo Prada Epicenter from https://retaildesignblog.net/2011/07/29/prada-store-by-herzog-de-meuron-tokyo/

Then, in 2004, Rem Koolhaas designed the third Prada Epicenter in LA. LA has concepts of 'artificiality and nature', 'individual and public', and 'luxury and openness'. All of these spaces are shocking and approached with new impressions.

LA Prada Epicenter from https://ofcharacter.tumblr.com/post/185391662145/prada-epicenter-los-angeles-oma

<Installation art, unexpected space branding>
In 2005, Prada introduced a shocking spacebranding with the work of a fine artist. A Prada opened the store on the side of the road in the desolate Texas Desert Marfa area. The nearest town, Valentine, had 132 residents. Prada store was built on its own in an empty field with only roads.

 Prada Marfa https://youtu.be/JaifzFUIfLo 

This store is an installation called ‘PRADA Marfa’ by Scandinavian duo artist Michael Elmgreen & Ingar Dragset. The art world calls this work “Pop Architecture Land Art Project”. There are 2005 F/W products directly provided by Miuccia Prada through the show window. This store has no one to watch and the door is firmly closed, and cannot be opened and entered.

Elmgreen and Dragset’s ‘Prada Marfa’, 2005 from https://lamblegs.wordpress.com/2013/09/18/prada-marfa-under-fire/

The intention of the work was to criticize the reality of the luxury industry and the excessively luxurious art market by installing a luxury brand store in the middle of the desert. In other words, it is a work made by criticism of gentrification and consumerism. In a luxury store that no one guards, windows were broken and bags and shoes were stolen. And on the wall of the building, the word "dum" was written by a spray.

Prada Marfa from https://medium.com/@widespreadz/the-desert-wears-prada-c6c0d68b6f5e

The artist expected this vandalism. By not repairing the Prada store that was damaged and stolen by vandalism, the components were naturally decomposed and disappeared, creating a work that reflects the passage of time.1) To make it easier to disappear, the work was made of soil bricks.

The state of Texas has questioned whether the work was an unauthorized advertisement. However, it was classified as artwork after an argument and remains in the field in its original form. In any case, the social debate about vandalism and the controversy between the art world and government authorities over whether it is an advertisement or artwork proves that PRADA Marfa was Prada's successful spacebranding.

The PRADA Marfa installation work is known to have been donated without direct funding, as it could be an advertisement built without permission if Prada directly funded it. Thousands of people visit this place every year to see the work in the middle of the desert since Beyoncé visited here and posted a picture of her jumping in 2012. PRADA Marfa is a spacebranding in which location and unexpectedness of debate have become cultural landmarks.

Beyonce from https://stylecaster.com/prada-marfa/

<The world's first moving space 'Prada Transformers'>
In 2009, there was a very unique and special Prada's spacebranding activity in Seoul. The PRADA TRANSFORMER project is the world's first moving space in the courtyard of Gyeonghuigung Palace, a historical cultural asset of the 16th century Joseon Dynasty.

PRADA TRANSFORMER from https://www.oma.com/projects/prada-transformer

 PRADA TRANSFORMER Gyeonghuigung Time lapse https://youtu.be/whiPt4Vd6jc 

Rem Koolhaas installed a tetrahedral iron pavilion with a height of 20m for a total of 6 months from April to September 2009. The transformer has been rotated 4 times so that the floor becomes a wall, becoming a changing space in one place. According to the change of the space, the operating program of the space was also different.

from https://www.archdaily.com/500362/5-years-later-a-look-back-on-oma-s-prada-transformer/5359cff4c07a808d1400004e-5-years-later-a-look-back-on-oma-s-prada-transformer-photo?next_project=no

https://youtu.be/5ydjo313r4o

The fashion exhibition <Waist Down>, which included a skirt designed by Miuccia Prada herself, art exhibition, cinema, and special events were held for six months. Prada has impressively spread Prada's values around the world through PRADA TRANSFORMER.2) The world's first moving space within the historical space of Gyeonghuigung was space branded with its unexpectedness and topicality.

Miuccia Prada's Skirt <Waist Down> Exhibition at Prada Transformers from https://www.archdaily.com/500362/5-years-later-a-look-back-on-oma-s-prada-transformer/5359cf23c07a800482000057-5-years-later-a-look-back-on-oma-s-prada-transformer-photo?next_project=no

<Prada Foundation FONDAZIONE PRADA.>
In 2015, Prada opened the Prada Foundation Art Museum, which expanded and renovated old distilleries after seven years of preparation. The art museum designed by  Rem Koolhaas has a stronger nature of a cultural institution than a traditional museum or gallery. Conservation and new architecture coexist, adding three new buildings to seven existing buildings.

FONDAZIONE PRADA from https://2x4.org/work/fondazione-prada-2/

Rem Koolhaas said: “Fondazione is not a conservation project and it is not a new building. Here, the two conditions, which are usually kept separate, face each other in a state of permanent interaction. In other words, it provides an ensemble of fragments that do not solidify into a single image or allow one part to dominate another.”

FONDAZIONE PRADA from https://2x4.org/work/fondazione-prada-2/

“New, old, horizontal, vertical, wide, narrow, white, black, open, closed – all these contrasts set the range of opposites that define the new Fondazione. By introducing many spatial variables, the complexity of the architecture will promote unstable and open programming, where art and architecture will benefit from each other's challenges.”

FONDAZIONE PRADA from https://2x4.org/work/fondazione-prada-2/

FONDAZIONE PRADA from https://miesarch.com/work/3627 © Iwan Baan

Along with the architecture of the museum, there is one interesting space. It is cafe, 'Bar Luce', in which the director of the Budapest Hotel directly participated in the interior design. He said he wanted to become an architect when he was young. The pastel-colored cafe is the main dining space of the foundation and has the atmosphere of Milan cafes from the 1950s and 1960s. The topic was amplified through the intervention of a film director with a cultural code.

Bar Luce from https://www.fondazioneprada.org/barluce/

Bar Luce from https://www.fondazioneprada.org/barluce/

Patrizio Bertelli, the husband of Miuccia and CEO of Prada, said in an interview with The New York Times that “space is like advertising in brand communication.”3) Prada's spacebranding strategic move provides many implications for dealing with space in other businesses than the fashion industry.





<5 Summaries>

"Space is like an advertisement in brand communication".

"PRADA Marfa has become a cultural landmark with its location and unexpectedness through debate."

"Transformers is the world's first moving space in a historical space, and spacebranding with its unexpectedness and topicality."

"The Prada Foundation is doing spacebranding as an ensemble of conservation and new construction."

"Café Ruth amplified the topic through the intervention of a film director who has a cultural code."


1) 아트인사이트, "사막 한 가운데 프라다 매장이?! Prada Marfa", 2016.3.16., from http://www.artinsight.co.kr/news/view.php?no=22099
2) Look of the day, "패션 브랜드의 모든 전시들, 그 이전에 프라다 트랜스포머가 있었다", 2017.8.17, from https://blog.naver.com/clwmrjf/221076365282
3) Julie v. Iovine, "ART/ARCHITECTURE; Forget the Clothes; Prada's Latest Design Isn't for Sale", The New York Times, 2003.6.22.
 























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Beginning of Space Branding: Prada Epicenter

Image
    Jooyun Kim's  Spacebranding vol.14 "Prada has imprinted on the public what 'Prada luxury' is with one marvelous space." <Guggenheim Museum to Prada flagship store.> In 2001, a spacebranding space was created in Soho, Manhattan, New York. 'New York Prada Epicenter' is a Prada flagship store. The author takes this space as the beginning of a true modern "spacebranding." 'New York Prada Epicenter', Soho, New York © Jooyun Kim Soho New York ©  Jooyun Kim Prada opened the Guggenheim Museum branch in Soho, which once led American art to the center of the world and was a leading art street, to the public as a flagship store. However, the store's approach was fundamentally different from before. It's a store that doesn't look like a store at all. Prada eliminated the area by drilling nearly half of the ground floor in Manhattan's Soho, where the price per floor area is high. The first floor and the basement are directly ...
Read more

Space is the brand's worldview and media

Image
  Jooyun Kim's  Spacebranding vol.41 "Space branding is controlling everything that is seen in the world to be ideal for a company or brand." <Lotte World Character Lotty's apartment> What does Lotty, a 32-year-old employee, do after work? It is the story of Lotte World's character Lotty. In August 2021, "Lotty's Apartment" was created as a pop-up store on the streets of Seongsu-dong. The goal is to announce the rebranded character Lotty. It was intended to experience the newly created Lotty's worldview through space. Lotty's Apartment by Project Rent ©Jooyun Kim Although it was August, when it was difficult to move due to the rainy season and the heat wave, more than 1,000 people a week visited the small apartment on the street. The space consists of a living room and a home office, and various props for the Lotty, such as pouches and household items, were made. Lotty's Apartment by Project Rent ©Jooyun Kim Of course, I was able to...
Read more

What is Good Space for Space Branding

Image
  Jooyun Kim's  Spacebranding vol.39 “A ‘good space’ for space branding is a Dionysian emotional space.” < 'Space' = 'Symbol of meaning'> Human beings think through 'words,' says psychoanalyst Carl Gustav Jung. Visual images are also like words. ‘Positioning’ is a term used to describe the concept of positioning a company, product, or service in the most advantageous place in the mind of the customer. Marketing theorist Jack Trout, who first popularized it, says: “The word ‘word’ is like the trigger of a gun, which triggers the meaning buried in it.” 1) The spatial image we see is something that replaces something that can be accessed with a purpose, a 'symbol' of meaning. German psychologist Rudolf Arnheim reveals that a person's reaction to the figure and the psychological state can be judged only by a drawing of a curved, smooth figure or lightning-like sharp figure on paper. If the clumsy graffiti painting on paper is the same, it can b...
Read more