"I always wanted to be different. I always wanted to be first," said the president and head designer of the eponymous Italian fashion house, which is set to list in Hong Kong on June 24 in an initial public offering that could raise as much as $3 billion.
Ms. Prada, 63 years old, said in an interview that she strongly promoted the choice of Hong Kong over Milan for the IPO. In the process, the fashion icon overcame opposition within the Italian business community, including from some banks. Still, she fears that many in the Italian business elite are disappointed by her decision.
She lashed out by creating high-end fashion from mundane materials like nylon, and eschewing overt sexiness in her clothes. Over the next two decades she turned the company into a global fashion leader, helped by some cult items such as a black nylon backpack and a bowling bag.
Ms. Prada believes an IPO in Hong Kong will help the family-owned company draw upon the dynamism of Asia and expose some members of her management team to a different culture.
"The whole idea of doing this here, for me, was exciting because it is where things are happening. It's where the future is," she said.
As a designer she is increasingly drawing on Chinese influences. She noted that Chinese designers in her 60-strong team seem more curious and more excited. "This fresh mind is very relevant for me," she said.
By comparison, she said, "in Europe the world of fashion is too conservative, very eighties." Ms. Prada also said she finds Chinese women's body shapes inspiring.
Prada is opening a design center in Hong Kong, and it plans to open 10 to 12 stores a year in China, a market in which it has low penetration compared with some of its peers. It currently has 14 Prada stores on the mainland.
