Miu Miu: After a raw and rich Miu Miu, Signora Prada is back on top

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Oct 1, 2019

“Raw, instinctive, arty and dangerous,” said Miuccia Prada with a naughty twinkle in her eye after a path-breaking Miu Miu show in Paris on Tuesday, the final day of the 30-day international runway season. 

 
Nearly everything inside-out – whether scrunched-up boiled cashmere mini cardigans worn under precision cut-out linen skirts with broad fabric braces; or gallant sleeveless, boxy double-breasted cut with sewn-on pagoda shoulders, where one column of buttons came in brass, the other in simple black. All jackets paired with ruffled flamenco skirts made in PVC; many gals showing acres of leg. All worn with sandals or high-heels encrusted with golden seashells, pearls and medieval studs.
 
Not a print in sight, despite the drip painting patterns on boots or the naïve circular spots on long Afghan gilets. Every element finely embroidered – all the way to gray Chinoiserie motifs on a pearly dress on Kaia Gerber.

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The key message? The various scraps, fabric swatches; shards of satin and puckered silk all sewn onto many looks – giving an iconoclastic aesthetic to the whole collection. In a season where multiple designers have replaced classic sleeves with puffballs of fabric or plissé silk accoutrements, this was the gutsiest statement of all. 

 
La Miuccia is definitely in a naughty mood -- her post-show party with YouTube is planned for Lapérouse, a former bordello for aristocrats on the Seine.
 
“And you should have seen how much the girls loved this collection in the backstage,” chuckled Miuccia, well aware that one acid test of a collection is the simple enthusiasm of a cast of models – weary after 30 days of shows – to wear the clothes. The show came less than two weeks after the offbeat classicism of Prada in Milan, and reaffirmed Miuccia's immense influence on fashion.
 
The only real pity is that just pampered fashion folks could see the brilliant Miu Miu set, built inside the giant 1930s government building, Le Conseil Economique, Social et Environnemental on Place d'Iéna. Made in the cheapest of materials – plywood chipboard - and featuring modernist bleachers and soaring wooden columns. It felt more like an cerebral art installation than a show space. Designed by Rem Koolhaas and constructed in one week for a 15-minute catwalk event, even as guests exited the show, workers were preparing to start ripping it apart.