But Miuccia Prada the art collector

Miuccia Prada the designer?ashe of the black nylon backpacks, whose Italian label is often called fashion's most intellectual?akeeps art and fashion separate. "Definitely fashion for me isn't art," she says. "Art is a place for ideas without any other direct concerns. If I'm a good fashion designer, it's because I sell."

But Miuccia Prada the art collector thrives on the interplay of ideas. In the crumbling palazzo that her Prada Foundation now occupies in Venice, a picture of votive candles by contemporary artist Thomas Demand flanks 17th-century Venetian glass figurines. Damien Hirst's oversized beach ball bounces in a room whose mottled windows open onto the Grand Canal.

"The things I wanted to do most were about collaboration and openness," Ms. Prada said of the art in the foundation's new exhibition, opening Saturday during the Venice Biennale.

Over the past two decades, Ms. Prada and her husband, Prada SpA chief executive Patrizio Bertelli, have simultaneously built a fashion powerhouse and a world-class contemporary art collection. Now, Ms. Prada is elevating her art collection to greater prominence. The foundation is debuting a substantial portion of its collection in the same month when the fashion house plans to list its shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange. It's just a coincidence, she says?athe result of "so many seeds we planted that are now blooming."

Just as fashion critics praise her ability to push the boundaries of clothing design?ashe once said she wasn't happy with a lace collection until it was "unsexy"?aart critics have hailed her highbrow approach to her collection over the years.

"For me, the thinking behind art is always more important than the aesthetic," says the 62-year-old designer, wearing a blouse embroidered with green triangles and a black apron over a white skirt.

As a result, an eclectic group of paintings, film, photos and sculptures?asome created as recently as this year?aare jumbled together in the 300-year-old Ca' Corner della Regina, a frescoed building of molded ceilings and marble floors. In exchange for restoring the building, the Prada Foundation gets to use it for up to 12 years.