The Desert Wears Prada

Marfa, Texas, a small town in West Texas is home to less than 2,000 people, and the per capita income is only $14,600, but has a store with items that cost more than that?

So, is this a PRADA Store? Yes, but predictably no, this is an Art Project headed Elmgreen & Dragset, two European Artist, whose permanent sculpture now sits in the middle of the Texas Desert. The purpose of this $80,000 sculpture was to show the signs of decay, as this building is never intended to be repaired. Prada allowed the artist to use their Trademarks astonishingly, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for this little project.

The first week of the completed sculpture, Vandals spray painted graffiti on the walls, with the words Dumb plastered on the walls of this structure, but the building was quickly repainted and repaired. Thea second incident involved thieves that got away with PRADA Handbags & shoes as they made their escape down U.S. Highway 90, and the most recent incident occuring in 2014, when Texas resident, Magano vandalized the building painting it light blue with Tom’s shoes Logos on the awnings, as well as his political manifesto tapped to the door. Magano was caught and charged with two counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief and forced to pay Ballroom Marfa $10,700 in restitution as well as a $1,000 fine. Since, these incidents Ballroom Marfa has taken extreme security measures such as: Putting in security tags which alert authorities when they are taken away from the premises and also the most worthless Prada merchandise you can find. The merchandise in the store is actual Prada, but with an angle, Size 37 shoes that are right-foot only, as well as hand bags with no bottoms make up the inventory at PRADA MARFA. Red flags have also been flown by the Texas Department of Transportation as the considered the sculpture a “billboard”, and under this classification it was under code violation, but in 2014 TXDOT decided to side with Ballroom Marfa, and now considers PRADA MARFA a museum. So, if you’re ever in West Texas, and are looking for some luxury shopping opportunities look no further than PRADA MARFA, it’s definitely worth your time.