History of fashion design second biggest-selling fashion brand (after LVMH) worldwide with US$7 billion worldwide of revenue in 2006 according to BusinessWeek magazine. In the 1990s the designer label Prada became a true creative force in the fashion industry. The Milanese company was first established in 1923, two years after Gucci, and like Gucci, it was a firm that sold high-quality shoes and leather. It was until the 1980s that Miuccia Prada, the niece of the company's founder, began to produce ready-to-wear fashion, gaining fame for her subtle, streamlined, yet unquestionably luxurious style, that catered for the privileged young woman who prefers understatement to
Italian fashion and now is settled in Milan and represents all the highest cultural values of Italian Fashion. This association has pursued a policy of organisational support aimed at the knowledge, promotion and development of fashion through events with a highly intellectual image in Italy and abroad. Examples of major Italian fashion houses focused on both menswear and womenswear, but also accessories, are: Giorgio Armani, Byblos Milano (designed by Manuel Facchini), Bottega Veneta (designed by Tomas Maier), Roberto Cavalli, Costume National, Brunello Cucinelli, Diesel (created by Andreas Melbostad as long as the Black Gold line is concerned), Dolce & Gabbana, Etro, Fay