.jpg "How Prada’s Galleria Became Summer’s Low-Key Luxe It-Bag With Many Celeb Fabs")
Nylon backpacks, brushed leather Cleo bags, and Re-Edition 2000s studded in crystals: let us count the ways iconic Prada bags have graced our own closets and those of the style icons we so admire. And yet, the mid-2000s style revival has now brought us back to one of the label’s most memorable shapes of all time: the Galleria bag. Midway through the summer, it’s already been spotted on the likes of Katie Holmes and Gabrielle Union, while Elsa Hosk and Karlie Kloss have also snapped it up for their Instagram feeds.
First released in 2007, the Galleria is a bag with history. With a geometric shape riffing on the structured ladylike bags of the 1940s, its top-handle silhouette offers a slightly vintage vibe with a modern hint of formality and timelessness. Prada originally named the bag after the legendary Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Italy’s oldest active shopping gallery with sprawling sky-high ceilings and ornate mosaics—it’s also the location of the first Prada boutique founded by Mario Prada, Miuccia Prada’s grandfather, in 1913.
The same year, Mario Prada developed the Saffiano technique well-loved by the most devout of Prada fans worldwide, which would later become a hallmark of the Galleria. To put it simply, Saffiano takes smooth and sumptuous calf leather and transforms it with a delicious crosshatch patterned finish, so specific to Prada. The technique is created using an intricate hot-pressing process where raw edges are smoothed and hand-painted to match. In the case of the Galleria, the bag is also made up of 83 individual pieces, all hand-finished and topped off with the signature Prada triangle.
Gabrielle Union wears her bag on June 14 in New York City. Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin
Katie Holmes out in New York City carrying a Prada Galleria handbag on May 31.Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
The Galleria itself has had its own high-fashion moments, appearing in the campaign for Prada’s fall 2012 maximalist-fueled collection layered in rich geometric shapes—it came studded with flower motifs. But for 2023, the Galleria has been updated—an array of special edition Gallerias features a bold range of new colors as well as unique embellishments, embroidery, topstitching and graphic shapes.
So, what makes it the right bag for right now? Well, aside from the sturdy shape that goes with just about everything, it also has the right sort of low-key luxe vibe for summer outfits. Gauzy dresses, straw hats, and even linen button-ups get a little bit of a lift with a structured top-handle bag. Take, for instance, Gabrielle Union, who wore a small beige Galleria replete with geometric orange and blue shapes. With a white maxi skirt, cropped copper tank top, and little leather sandals, the bag added a dramatic pop. Elsa Hosk paired hers with demure wool shorts, a beige sweater, and a caramel leather coat.
After season upon season of fashion shifting its eye from major minis to big totes, the sizing of the Galleria also feels especially refreshing. It’s offered in mini, small, medium, and large, so you don’t have to commit to a one-and-done size. And there’s this: it’s available for custom order in lush crocodile and ostrich in Miuccia Prada-esque shades of minty aqua and salmon pink. We’re sure it won’t be long until we see our favorite style setters elegantly draping made-to-order Gallerias over the crooks of their elbows.
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