Prada inaugurates restored Rong Zhai mansion with fashion show

It is with its 2018 Resort collection that the luxury brand Prada inaugurated the restored Rong Zhain mansion in Shanghai on October 12. The 1918 mansion was restored by Prada’s loyal architect Roberto Baciocchi, and the fashion brand wishes to make this historical mansion a prime venue and landmark for cultural events henceforth. The public can visit the mansion until November 12.

The Rong Zhai mansion rose from its ashes

The idyllic mansion was built for the family of the magnate Yung Tsoong-King (1873–1938), more popularly known as the Flour King of China in his days. The historical mansion is one of the most magnificent garden villas designed in a western style; the historically rich city’s Jing’an district has always been an international one, with an intricate European-Chinese connection.

Through time though, the once extravagant mansion collapsed to become an obsolete building and the efforts required to renovate it while keeping its original atmosphere and craftsmanship already proved to be a very challenging affair. The rigorous restoration of the mansion was rendered possible with the dynamic collaboration between western architects and Chinese scholars and artisans. The renovation specialist architect Roberto Baciocchi even started working on the project with Prada in 2011.

A monumental hybrid

This renovated mansion — a monumental hybrid between Milanese and Chinese handcraftsmanship — will serve as a unique venue for the brand’s diverse activities in China. The intriguing decor comprising of stained glasses, sunburst motifs, bronze and metal chandelier lamps, and complex hand-carved wooden teak, to name a few, were blended in “the constant pursuit of quality”, as Baciocchi explains. An unrivaled effect of depth and vitality were made possible through the light and arrangement of the intricate combination of calcimine and natural pigments, waxed-wall panels and coloured glass.

At the opening of the fashion show, John Con-sing Yung, the descendant of Yung Tsoong-King, shared that his grandfather, that is, one of the children of the tycoon, used to hide under the staircase to watch all the activities taking place in the mansion: grandiose parties lasting two days were organized in those days and guests were not allowed to leave before the end, opera stars were called to perform exclusively at the mansion, and the decor, reminding of some enchanted lavish setting with non-stop rotating swings, were meant to charm invitees.

Prada has several restoration projects around the world

Prada is renowned for having an extensive experience in historic preservation projects around the globe. Another magnificent renovation work is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, the impressive shopping arcade in Milan dating back to the 19th century. Another of Prada’s work is the Palazzo Ca’Corner della Regina, a grandiose palace on the Grand Canal in Venice from the baroque era. It has been transformed into an art space for Fondazione Prada.

Apart from this, Miuccia Prada and her husband Patrizio Bertelli have also restored a complex of seven buildings, salvaged from a distillery of 1916. Three edifices spanned on a 205,000 square feet area, were also built by the couple in Largo Isarco in south Milan to house the new Fondazione Prada headquarters.

h/t: Blouin Art Info
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