PRADA opened their first Epicenter store in New York City in December 2001. Designed by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), it is the first in three epicentres proposed for the USA. The epicentre is seen as a working experiment and is a space designed specifically to accommodate change - change in the store抯 functionality, interactions, and content.

The concept for the in-store technology was created by AMO, a separate studio established by OMA. The main technology elements are the interactive dressing rooms, a collaborative design by AMO and IDEO, and the wireless handheld staff devices, which were designed and developed by IDEO.

More than twenty companies participated on the project. Those working on the in-store technology included IconNicholson (software), Scharff Weisberg (AV systems), KTP (RFID integration), and Weisshaar Industrial Design (ubiquitous display design and engineering). The aura content was developed with PRADA by AMO, 2x4, and KRAMDESIGN.