Pradasphere II exhibition in Shanghai traces the history and culture of Prada

Pradasphere II, a public exhibition tracing the history and culture of Prada from its origins in 1913 to the present day, opened at the Start Museum in Shanghai, China. Told through a selection of stories curated by co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, the exhibition is as rich as it is intimate.

More than 400 artifacts — physical and digital — are on display, drawn from the fashion archive as well as decades-long engagements across art, architecture, culture, and sport. Building on the success of the first iteration in 2014, this exhibition follows the groundbreaking trajectory of Prada, exploring the indelible impact of its vision on luxury, beauty, and fashion as an intellectual act.

Staged as a lush magazzino, the Italian word for warehouse, Pradasphere II is a cross-section of the multivalent Prada universe. Created in collaboration with 2×4, the New York City and Beijing-based design studio, the exhibition juxtaposes the rough and refined: constructed of industrial warehouse shelving lined with precious pink silk velvet. Together, the exhibition puts forward a way of thinking about luxury: fashion intersects with life — history, art, sport, architecture, and sound.