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UAL Research Online

Prada and the art of patronage

Ryan, Nicky (2007) Prada and the art of patronage. Fashion Theory: The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture, 11 (1). 7 - 23. ISSN 1362-704X, 1751-7419 (Online)

Type of Research: Article
Creators: Ryan, Nicky
Description:

This article examines the relationship between luxury brands and the arts through an analysis of Prada's patronage of "avant-garde" artists and architects. Luxury is a relational concept and the significance of Prada's strategies of distinction is contextualized within the prevailing narratives of luxury. The collaboration between Prada and Rem Koolhaas in the creation of the New York and Los Angeles epicenter stores provides a detailed case study through which to explore what is at stake in the corporate appropriation of "avant-garde" positions within the parameters of the market. It is argued that the "cultural capital" of artists such as Sachs, Gursky, Elmgreen & Dragset, and architects such as Rem Koolhaas is appropriated to produce symbolic capital for the Prada brand. The proposition that global corporate identity has increasingly become linked with artistic creativity is tested in relation to Pierre Bourdieu's writings about social distinction (1984) and his analysis of the "field" of cultural production (1993).

Official Website: http://dx.doi.org/10.2752/136270407779934588
Keywords/subjects not otherwise listed: Luxury; art; patronage; avant-garde; koolhaas
Publisher/Broadcaster/Company: Berg Publishers
Your affiliations with UAL: Colleges > London College of Communication
Date: 1 March 2007
Digital Object Identifier: 10.2752/136270407779934588
Date Deposited: 04 Dec 2009 00:06
Last Modified: 11 Nov 2023 01:53
Item ID: 1381
URI: https://ualresearchonline.arts.ac.uk/id/eprint/1381

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