Blonde Bauhaus

The Prada clan loves art and investing in it

Prada supports the arts and fine food in Monte Carlo. It comes as no surprise that the two obsessions that define the Instagram era are food and fashion. Why? Well, we have to put on clothes every day and we have to eat. So it’s clear that every day offers plenty of photo opportunities. Other cultural pursuits like reading, going to the theater or seeing art require a more thought out set up for pictures.

Stefano Cantino, Caroline of Hanover, Francesco Vezzoli, Barbara Sukowa, Astrid Welter.

Stefano Cantino, Caroline of Hanover, Francesco Vezzoli, Barbara Sukowa, Astrid Welter.

No company understands this better than Prada. At the forefront of fashion for more than two decades now, the company has also left a footprint in the food world lately. Not only has the company bought the traditional Milanese cake shop Marchesi and re-interpreted the original Corso Magenta location in Prada green on Via Montenapoleone but the company has also been famed for having the best catering at their fashion shows and events.

Strong whisky sour and anchovy with lemon toast anyone? Yes, that’s the standard fare before and after one of the Prada shows. The bar and cafe at the Fondazione Prada was decorated by Wes Anderson and for its Panini stand, one of Miuccia’s sons tracked down the best Panini maker in Milan to start working for them there. Capo Bertelli is renown for his gourmet lifestyle and is said to bring his own meat from the butcher to the restaurant.

Blonde Bauhaus Marlene Dietrich

A custom-made Prada dress.

Marlene Dietrich Blonde Bauhaus

Inspired by Marlene Dietrich.

Apart from food, the Prada clan loves the art world and so Prada signed up to support ego artist Francesco Vezzoli’s Monaco show entitled Blonde Bauhaus. Why Vezzoli is considered an artist and not a celebrity blogger is not always clear at the same time his tenacity in pursuing his own fame via endorsing famous names in his oeuvres is admirable.

And he knows how to enlist big names. For his show the Villa Sauber – home of the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco – Prada organized, in the presence of S.A.R. Princess Caroline of Hanover, an exclusive evening in honor of artist Francesco Vezzoli and his installation Villa Marlene, dedicated to the legendary Marlene Dietrich. Being a German fashion magazine, we naturally had to attend the activities.

Villa Sauber, one of the last Belle Époque villas in Monaco, was revisited by the artist, who took inspiration from the Berlin of the ‘20s and ‘30s to stage a recreation of the diva’s life. Highlight of the evening was a musical performance by Fassbinder heroine Barbara Sukowa, who performed four Marlene Dietrich songs: “Falling In Love Again”, “Ich weiß nicht, zu wem ich gehöre”, “Johnny wenn du Geburtstag hast” and “Lili Marleen”, arranged by Frédéric Sanchez. Sukowa had already performed Brecht songs at a recent Prada women’s show.

Barbara Sukowa performed Marlene Dietrich songs.

Chef Mauro Colagreco who has two Michelin stars at his Restaurant Mirazur in Menton at the border to Italy provided catering. And again, here Prada showed that no expense is spared when it comes to impressing its guests. Starters included wonderful Tartare of Gamberoni, a wild asparagus salad or a beautiful and tasty fresh crab dish with meringue. Main courses were homard bleu in Foie gras sauce or the most tender of veal with panais and an espuma of potatoes with fresh mushrooms finished with dessert of fresh rhubarb and a litchi panna cotta. Argentine-born Colagreco is a wonderful chef who knows how to bring the best out of his fine ingredients and has panache to make eye-pleasing and colorful plates.

Attended by the A-list of Monaco society, an enclave of rich people who only drive Bentleys, Rolls Royce and vintage Mercedes 600’s, this evening was owned by the chef and Sukowa. Even if la Miuccia was not in attendance, it made clear that Prada is the new food fashion art power for years to come.

Blonde Bauhaus

The homard bleu.