Miuccia Prada, doyenne of the fashion world, has told ladies who lunch to get a job instead of worrying about their wrinkles.
I had this problem – worrying about looking old – when I was 33 and thank God I got over it and it never came back,” said Prada, now 66.
“And in any case, if we work, who cares? If you don’t work, of course you think about the problem of your wrinkles from morning until night. If you work, you have something better to think about.
“That is the beginning of every possible kind of pride, and with those women [who don’t work] I really have no conversation.”
Prada has a warning for trophy wives. “If you don’t work, if you depend on a man for your bread, how can you be happy? If you are young and blonde, maybe he will love an older one with black hair.
“So just live your life. This is so obvious,” she said.
Miuccia Prada, Miu Miu fragrance annouced for2020 (Reuters)
The Italian designer told The Observer that “the world is ageing” and women should feel comfortable in their skin.
“From a commercial point of view, eventually people will start saying [being older] is fantastic,” she said, adding that the shift in thinking will come from within rather than from seeing older models in advertising campaigns.
“You won’t convince people with models, but when each of us really believes in ourselves, and feels good and beautiful and sexy and secure, that will be it,” she said.
Prada took over the family firm after gaining a degree in political science and is known as one of fashion’s more cerebral figures.
She admitted: “I’m very proud of my job. I used to be ashamed of it because I was educated, I was a feminist. But finally I am proud of it. I earn my own money, which is a huge thing for a woman.”
Prada’s designs are not to everyone’s taste – Giorgio Armani famously called them “sometimes ugly” and an example of “bad taste that becomes chic”.
They are also expensive. Asked what women should do if they coveted her clothes but could not afford them, Prada conceded that fashion is “undemocratic”. She said: “If you can afford it, you can, and if you can’t, you can’t.
“I would say: wear vintage. I would say: be strong and proud. Look chic with something less expensive.”
Miuccia Prada tells wealthy wives: ‘If you don’t work, how can you be happy?’ – Telegraph