Miu Miu Gets Dirty… and Wrinkly… and Sparkly

Some seasons the line between Miu Miu and Prada is clear. Others it feels like the Miu Miu girl is becoming the Prada woman before our very eyes. This is one of those seasons. Where Miu Miu’s youthfulness and playful energy seems to be giving way to the maturity and highbrow intellectualism of its big sister brand.

Take the lived-in, creased, edge-dirtied looks that opened the show, which felt like they had a lot in common with the wrinkle-laden Prada menswear collection that showed in Milan this January.

Those leathers also felt very reminiscent of offerings from the recent Prada menswear show, though, to be fair, Miu Miu has often showcased a similarly lived-in approach to leather.

Then there were those deep squared-off necklines which also felt very Prada to me, though I’m having a hard time placing the exact collection they seem to be referencing.

The bows are very Miu Miu, but simplified and less girly that one might normally expect.

And many of the simpler dresses come with those extremely high hems one so often associates with the brand.

Then there are those little Working Girl pencil skirt looks, which feel very much like what the Miu Miu girl might wear to her internship at a bank. They’re not quite right for said scenario, but they’re simple and clinical without a single jewel or bow in sight, so, you know, she is trying!

The shearling-lined coats and blazers feel very indulgent. (Who hasn’t wanted to turn a fur inside out and feel it against their skin all day?)

And, of course, those layered Nylon separates (at least they look like some sort of synthetic material) also feel like a blurring of Miu Miu and Prada design codes.

Sparkle makes its appearance towards the end of the show in the form of some truly fantastic belts on flared wool pants with sheer tops (or are those dresses?) tucked in.

But it’s the three peachy dresses on Gemma Ward, Kristen McMenamy, and Gillian Anderson that are the most blinged out and, thus, feel the most Miu Miu of all. Worn with confidence and grace by the show’s oldest models, they demonstrate that the Miu Miu girl is not a girl at all. Not necessarily. She’s a woman. Or a man (there were menswear looks too). Miu Miu is not designed for some abstract and dated idea of youth. It’s beautiful clothes for anyone who wants to wear them.

And if you’re a Prada fanatic looking to incorporate more Miu Miu into your wardrobe, this is definitely the collection to help you do it.

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