Even if you don’t recognize Miuccia Prada’s first name, odds are you’re familiar with the brand that bears her last name. Prada is one of the world’s premier fashion brands, and Miuccia is the company’s lead designer. She’s incredibly successful, and according to Bloomberg, she’s worth around $6.6 billion. Being so ingrained in the fashion industry, you might assume Prada studied fashion in school, but she didn’t.
Instead, Prada attended school at the University of Milan, where she graduated with a degree in political science. After that, Prada remained at the university, where she completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in political science. Soon after, she joined the Italian Communist Party, so Prada was on a different path than the one she ended up dominating.
Prada wasn’t interested in taking over her family’s business in 1978, but she ultimately took the position. In 1985, Prada’s line of black handbags became incredibly popular, and in 1989, she launched a line of clothing that earned significant critical acclaim. From there, Prada went on to solidify herself as one of the top designers in the world, though she never used her degrees, having fully embraced her role as a fashion designer.
