Little Sister, Big Statement: The Rise of Miu Miu
"With Miu Miu, I can be more daring, more radical - it's like my personal diary in clothing."
Miuccia Prada
Say Miu Miu, and nothing more. Rarely has a fashion house set so many trends so often and inadvertently as Prada's younger sister brand, Miu Miu. What began in 1992 as a playground for Miuccia Prada to be more experimental, daring, and radical has turned out to be one of today's frontrunners in fashion. Let's take a closer look at what makes this Italian premium brand unique.

Miuccia Prada, born in 1949, is the granddaughter of Mario Prada, founder of one of today's most prestigious fashion houses. Yet, she didn't initially set out to pursue a career in fashion. Instead, she earned a doctorate in political science and trained as a mime in the 1970s. However, in the mid-1970s, she changed direction, deciding to join the family business, working alongside her mother in the accessories department before becoming the new head designer in 1978.
By this time, Miuccia had already demonstrated her talent for driving change and daring to go against the grain. She did so when she designed the famous nylon bag, challenging the status quo of luxury fashion. Then, in 1992, Miuccia decided to venture into the unknown by creating her own fashion brand, Miu Miu. There, she could be playful, spontaneous, and personal. In fact, Miu Miu is Miuccia's family nickname, underscoring the personality she brings to her brand.
After opening her first boutique in Milan, her hometown, in 1993, she made her first catwalk appearance at New York Fashion Week in 1995 with Kate Moss as the lead model. Two years later, the ready-to-wear label began showing its latest collection in London before finally arriving in Paris in 2006. What is relatively unknown today is that Miu Miu launched its own menswear line in 1999. However, it was discontinued nine years later.
By creating her own diffusion line, Miuccia was able to explore a new style that offered her more freedom and departed from Prada's luxurious minimalism. "I thought that with Miu Miu I could be more radical, more avant-garde, more disruptive. Anything that in some way I couldn't do with Prada, I wanted to do with Miu Miu", she says. In 1997, she explained, "Prada, at the end, is what I am, and Miu Miu is what I would like to be", underscoring her passion and commitment to both fashion houses.
So, what is the Miu Miu style code? Through the Italian designer brand, Miuccia Prada tells her own story: eclectic and rebellious, characterized by her spontaneous creativity and love of contradictions. This contradictory approach to fashion can be seen exemplarily in the different collections she has designed for Miu Miu: One time, she pays tribute to ultra-miniskirts and bra tops; the next, she opts for skinny jeans and a long fur coat. This is just one example of Miuccia's playful, surprising collections. Although Miu Miu is seen as a youthful brand aimed at a younger audience,it is the label itself that has a young soul—bold, daring, and spirited—as collector Gisella Castillo shows. Castillo says, "What makes Miu Miu special to me is Miuccia's ability to remind us of our youth, but is ageless at the same time. I remember not being able to afford Miu Miu when I was younger and now at age 50, it's my main go-to-brand." Miuccia herself supports this attitude; she wants her designs to allow individuals to express their uniqueness and personality without conforming to any clichés.

This brings us to the question of who the Miu Miu girl is. It's a term that has become increasingly popular in recent years, though it has actually characterized the ready-to-wear brand since its inception. Miuccia has consistently surprised us with her choice of ambassadors for her label.
Ms. Prada herself describes the Miu Miu girl as the epitome of balancing contradictions. "There is a strength, and a tenderness. For instance, you can want to be beautiful and gentle, but also intelligent, political...She isn't unknowable, because she is present in all of us", she says. Miu Miu's casting director, Ashley Brokaw, lifts the veil on the secret from her point of view: "Honestly, it's Ms. Prada. It's her. It's the essence of her. It's her humor. It's her girlishness. It's her playfulness. It's her." The range of Miu Miu ambassadors and personifications of the Miu Miu girl has been wide and marked by individuality and different personalities. In 1995, for example, the Italian designer chose 20-year-old Drew Barrymore to star in a campaign, making her one of the brand's most famous faces alongside Chloë Sevigny, who debuted on the Miu Miu catwalk in 1996. Today, the brand is represented by celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan, Sydney Sweeney, Emma Corrin, and Hailey Bieber. They wear Miu Miu not only to premieres and events but also incorporate the brand's distinctive designs into their personal wardrobes. However, with her runway show, Miuccia shows that the Miu Miu girl isn't just the latest celebrity; she's about being your truest and fullest self. To illustrate this idea, Ms. Prada chose Qin Huilan, a 70-year-old retired doctor, to walk the catwalk in 2024.

GET AN INSIGHT INTO THE VARIETY OF MIU MIU GIRLS

One thing is certain: Miu Miu never fails to create iconic pieces and set trends that travel around the world. For example, in the Spring/Summer 2022 collection, Miu Miu brought the micro miniskirt to life, marking a new era for the brand characterized by a distinctive uniform style. Both have become iconic for the label. The following season, A/W 22, the ready-to-wear brand presented its signature satin ballet flats and pumps. At that time, searches for "ballerina style" on Pinterest increased by 1,566%, clearly demonstrating that Miu Miu is a fashion label that surprises and makes a statement. The signature Miu Miu Matelassé handbag with its refined quilted leather finish is also one of the brand's most iconic designs. However, the Italian fashion house has also proven innovative by breaking new ground with its collaboration with New Balance. Their first collaboration, launched in 2022, was an instant success and was one of the most popular pieces in the first quarter of 2023, according to Lyst.

Additionally, the Italian fashion brand has launched projects beyond the fashion industry. For example, Women's Tales is a series of short films that gives renowned female filmmakers the opportunity to explore themes of femininity, diversity, and creativity in the 21st century. The filmmakers use the latest Miu Miu collections to create a symbiosis between style, storytelling, and cultural expression.
In 2024, the designer brand launched a literary book club called Miu Miu Summer Reads. Held in cities such as Milan, Paris, New York, and Tokyo, the Italian label centered its focus on combining feminist themes, literature, and creative expression.

When Raf Simons joined Miuccia Prada as the creative director of Prada in 2020, Miuccia was given the opportunity to focus more on her own line, which she described as a great luxury. Initially, the Italian designer had to juggle designing for both brands, sometimes having only 15 days to design a collection for Miu Miu after finishing one for Prada.

Whatever creative directions Miuccia takes in the future, we can be sure that she will continue to prove her talent for designing the latest must-have pieces. She has already demonstrated that being a Miu Miu girl means staying true to yourself and nurturing your own abundance of self-confidence. She sums it up this way: "What you wear is how you present yourself to the world, especially today when human contact is so instantaneous. Fashion is [an] instant language." Therefore, we should remind ourselves that fashion gives us the opportunity to embrace our personality and who we are.

GET AN INSIGHT INTO MIU MIU'S TROPHY PIECES

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