Prada Restores Historic Mansion in Shanghai

SHANGHAI VILLA: Prada has restored Shanghai’s 1918 mansion Rong Zhai and will unveil it on Oct. 12 with a fashion show of the brand’s 2018 Resort collection, which was presented in Milan in May. Prada’s goal is to turn the historic villa into a flexible site for cultural activities. Originally designed for the family of tycoon Yung Tsoong-King (1873 to 1938), known in his day as the Flour King of China, Rong Zhai is one of Shanghai’s finest Western-style garden villas. Western architects and Chinese scholars and artisans have collaborated on the restoration. An opening cocktail reception will be held on Oct. 14, during Shanghai Fashion Week, as well as other activities, still to be revealed. Prada Rong Zhai will be open to the public beginning Oct. 17 for about one month. Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli, chief executive officer of the Milan-based group, began the restoration of the villa in 2011, reflecting their admiration for China’s aesthetic heritage. The couple are not new to such initiatives of preservation. They have supported the restoration of Milan’s 19th-century luxury shopping arcade Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and Palazzo Ca’ Corner della Regina, an opulent Baroque palace on the Grand Canal in Venice reconfigured

Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Read More...

from WWDWWD http://ift.tt/2h2W1VB
via IFTTT