Smells like Prada

Prada is not just a world made up of clothes and fashion shows, it is a complex and multifaceted universe that reflects the personality of its designer, Miuccia. Inside there is sport, art, design, there are restaurants and bars and there are perfumes. Many ignore it, but often the most iconic, symbolic piece (and sometimes the sector that drives the economy) of a fashion house is the perfume, the one that has the power to make it known everywhere and by anyone, being the product cheaper and easy to find. Just think of what Chanel N°5 represented for the French brand. So, well aware of the evocative power of a fragrance, the Milanese company made its debut in this field in 2004 and, year after year, has continued to present proposals more and more intriguing. The last? A reinterpretation of its 2016 fragrances, La Femme Prada and L'Homme Prada, which, for this season, become Absolu and buy a new packaging covered in saffiano leather personalized by one of the most iconic patterns in the store's maison inspired by the boutique floor from Milan. Better novelty or a more irreverent essence like that of the beloved Prada Candy? Difficult to choose. 

Here's what you need to know about the fragrant world of Prada.

Miuccia's philosophy.

The Prada fragrances are, like every element produced by the company, an extension of the creative vision of the "Signora Miuccia".

"Perfume is not playing a game ... it's pure instinct" - said the designer - " I remember being about sixteen and the mother of a friend of mine had this really incredible perfume. I was obsessed with this perfume. I would go to her home and smell it in the bathroom. It was from a little artisanal shop on Madison Avenue that no longer exists called Shelley Marks. I had other perfumes, but with that one I really fell in love. It was a total obsession. I used to go to New York and buy the perfume from the shop; this little shop, always with an old man who only used to make perfumes in the summer with a few students. At some point it closed down. And then I felt really bad; for me this was kind of a disaster."

Trying to replicate the same quality of that much desired perfume was born in 2004 Prada (Amber).

The first fragrance.

Prada (Amber) marks the brand's debut in the essences sector. Launched on the market in 2004, it is based on four fundamental ingredients of the new perfume: Indian sandalwood oil, Indonesian patchouli leaf oil, French Labdanum resin and Siam benzoin. The combination of tradition and innovation also comes back in the packaging, which combines a bottle of pure, almost architectural forms and a pump-like nebulizer that recalls the aromas of the anteran. The deluxe touch? A metal plate shows the four main ingredients and offers the opportunity to engrave the owner's initials.

Candy meets the world of cinema.

Prada Candy is the must-have fragrance of the fashion house. Its mix of musks, vanilla benzoin and caramel heart is irreverent, spontaneous, challenging conventions, as well as the shocking pink of the packaging on which stands an image created by the legendary illustrator François Berthoud. To complete this concept of perfume as a synonym of pure pleasure, perfect for a bold and unconventional woman there is the advertising campaign that has as its protagonist the French actress Léa Seydoux directed, in three different episodes, by Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola.

Prada Olfactories.

To describe these ten new fragrances designed to light the fantasy of the unconscious, Prada chooses some beautiful and colorful collages that, like the different fragrances, unite mysterious combinations to represent "the experiences of the unexpected and the surreal, like a cinematic dream that we only remember in part ".

Vintage minimalism

Less is more. If there is a characteristic that unites all the different fragrances presented by Prada in the course of the is certainly the choice to be faithful to the values of the brand, or tradition, innovation and quality, but also to combine them with a minimalist packaging with a taste of 'antan, which recalls that of the perfumes of the grandmothers. Just look and smell to enter a world in black and white, which reserves unsuspected contemporary notes. The secret of Prada's success?