The end of Prada in Marfa? Designer's 'store' installation in middle of Texan desert is branded 'illegal outdoor advertising' A Prada storefront in the Chihuahuan desert, 35miles northwest of Marfa, has been classified by the Texas Department of Transportation as 'illegal outdoor advertising'. Not a retail store, but a permanent installation by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, Scandinavian artists based in Berlin, Prada Marfa, despite its isolated location, has drawn thousands of tourists since opening in 2005 - including, last summer, Beyoncé. In violation of a technicality in the 1965 Highway Beautification Act, the treasured installation, which sits on unlicensed land bordering federal highway U.S. 90, could be forcefully removed; although the department has not yet decided what action it will take. The permanent installation by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset, Scandinavian artists based in Berlin, has drawn thousands of tourists since opening in 2005 - including, last summer, Beyoncé (pictured) Inside the 'store' are six bags (bolted down, to discourage theft) and 20 shoes (the rights only, for the same purpose) from Prada's fall/winter 2005 collection, selected by Muiccia Prada herself. Never open, the 15-foot-by-25-foot adobe building is intended to never be repaired, allowing it to slowly degrade back into the natural landscape. 'It was meant as a critique of the luxury goods industry, to put a shop in the middle of the desert,' Mr Elmgreen, who never applied for a permit because he rejects the idea that the piece is an advertisement, told The New York Times. The project, which cost $80,000, was funded not by Prada, but by the New York nonprofit Art Production Fund in collaboration with Ballroom Marfa, a local contemporary art gallery. Inside the 'store' are six bags (bolted down, to discourage theft) and 20 shoes (the rights only, for the same purpose) from Prada's fall/winter 2005 collection, selected by Muiccia Prada herself 'It was meant as a critique of the luxury goods industry, to put a shop in the middle of the desert,' Mr Elmgreen, who never applied for a permit because he rejects the idea that the piece is an advertisement 'If it really is against the regulations, they should have found out in 2005 when it was erected,' stated Mr Elmgreen. The art statement only came into question this June, when Playboy Enterprises put its own installation, a 40-foot neon Playboy bunny sign next to an elevated 1972 Dodge Charger, on the same highway just a mile outside of Marfa. Playboy Marfa, designed by the artist Richard Phillips for Playboy, which paid for the installation, was deemed in July an illegal outdoor advertisement by the transportation department because of its use of the trademarked Playboy bunny logo without a permit. The art statement only came into question this June, when Playboy Enterprises put its own installation, a 40-foot neon Playboy bunny sign next to an elevated 1972 Dodge Charger, on the same highway just a mile outside of Marfa Assistant Attorney General Oren Connaway, who assesed Playboy Marfa's legality, then began to question Prada Marfa's status. But Mr Elmgreen defended the piece. 'There's a difference between being commissioned by a company to do something for them and using their logo, and using their logo on your own. 'If they want to remove it because of bureaucracy, we tear it down,' he stated firmly. 'And then we can say that one of the quite well-known permanent artworks - that hasn't cost taxpayers anything and that has been elected one of the most-worth-seeing roadside attractions in the States - is no longer.'