by Imogen Clark
  • 3 minute read
  • July 22, 2024
How the Prada Galleria continues to hold style status decades after its release

In the ever-evolving landscape of accessories, there are few that have withstood the rapid changes in trends quite like Prada’s Galleria. Having effortlessly navigated itself into the intersection of functionality and sophistication, the handbag has become an artefact of modern femininity, gracing the arms of discerning women across the world. Seen as a paradox by the brand, it has been able to ceaselessly stay relevant since its inception in the late 2000s by balancing the characteristics of a timeless wardrobe with the taste of ‘now’. 

Launched in 2007 as a manifestation of Miuccia Prada’s homage to her grandfather’s beginnings, the bag saw the designer harken back to the company’s early days as a leather goods company in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. It was there in Milan that the first Prada store was opened by Mario Prada in 1913 and it still remains the home of the Italian brand’s historic flagship. 

The 19th-century four-story location has become a landmark in the capital, with its glass dome roof, neo-renaissance aesthetic and octagonal centre. Its rigid architecture is translated into the Galleria bag with its clean lines, curved handle and triangular logo plaque, whilst also referencing frame bags, a design popular in the 1940s for their ladylike versatility. 

First introduced in Prada’s Saffiano leather – a patented material discovered by the founder that transforms soft calf’s leather into the famed durable crosshatch finish through hot-pressing, which the brand is now synonymous with – the bag is constructed from 83 individual pieces and hand-finished to maintain a strict level of meticulous craftsmanship. 

Prada Galleria. Image: Supplied

Since its debut nearly two decades ago, the Galleria has seen itself shapeshift in new materials, sizes and colours, offering itself to be seen in a plethora of variations with each seasonal style change. 

For 2024, the handbag is given a complete update, unveiling the Galleria Soft Grain, a new, lighter version of the classic that reimagines both its exterior and interior. Using supple calfskin on the outside, nappa linings within and shining gold-plated hardware across, the bag comes in a softer malleability, ideal for the fast-paced routine of everyday life. 

With the arrival of a new treatment, the Galleria Soft Grain lends itself to be a canvas for decoration. Launching with embellishments innately tied to the Prada identity, an all-over gold-plated micro-studded edition takes centre stage. Referencing ‘point d’espirit’ – finely netted lace with polka dots embroidered across it – the surface is transformed using a design language closely intertwined within the sphere of fashion and accessories. Set against the backdrop of the softer construction, this idea of paradox is further emphasised. 

While this version seeks to look forward, an alternative embellishment in the form of three-dimensional flowers hopes to look back and honour its name. Since its founding, savoir-faire in leather has been Prada’s driving force and what the brand initially became globally recognised for with the Galleria. 

So, this Galleria Soft Grain is proposed with flowers that are all hand-worked and stitched together one by one in fine leather and presented either as tightly coiled rosebuds or fully blossomed anemones. Directly linking ready-to-wear with the bag, flowers have become a repetitive theme for the past four decades, always finding themselves woven into the seams of collections and campaigns, with this addition becoming the epitome of this hallmark. 

Prada Galleria. Image: Supplied

Brand ambassador Scarlett Johansson beautifully represents the Prada Galleria’s real-world versatility in the brand’s latest campaign. Shot in New York by Jonathan Glazer, the visually striking story explores Scarlett’s multi-faceted craft and the accessory’s craftsmanship. Through a series of stills and videos, the bag is elegantly elevated past a classic product placement partnership and instead is represented in its true form – an essential aspect of a woman’s daily routine. Understood better as a fundamental part of a woman’s wardrobe, the campaign illustrates the importance of a handbag to a woman – and, most notably, the quintessential essence of the Galleria. 

Transcending its material form and accessory status since day one, the Prada Galleria has become an ode to the artistry of the House and an unmistakable symbol of the timelessness of Miuccia Prada’s vision of the modern woman. 

Visit prada.com and follow @prada on Instagram.

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