Miu Miu Autumn/Winter 2021/22 Paris Fashion Week
Into the Wild: Miu Miu Prepares Us for a Fashionable Rite of Passage Back to the New World.
Image and Video Credit: Miu Miu
Image credit Miu Miu | A faux fur symphony – jacket, bag and gloves
Miu Miu, Miuccia Prada’s alter ego brand and (not-so-little) sister to superpower brand Prada has reportedly been described by The New York Times as ‘the master of the look of not-quite-right.’ That ‘look of not-quite-right’ somehow is always so fresh, so novel, so infinitely irresistible! Whenever I’d arrive at Florence’s Santa Maria Novella train station over the years the excitement would be palpable in anticipating the marvels that await at the quirky Miu Miu flagship on Via Roma. And I must admit, seldom have I left without a divine pair of sunglasses or a little fluffy something.
Image credit Miu Miu | Stripy tights, knitted ‘lingerie’ and a furry bag
Talking about things fluffy, the Fall/Winter collection was abundant with faux fur. Perhaps Miuccia, like the rest of us, has been dreaming of the great outdoors after all these months in confinement? And what could possibly be more escapist than the alpine landscape at Cortina d’Ampezzo in the Dolomites, where the show was filmed? The offering (aptly named ‘Brave Hearts’) was a curious mix of extremely cosy outdoor wear and finely knitted lingerie, predominantly in shades of icy pastels, splattered with the brand’s beloved spiky rhinestones and sequins.
Image credit Miu Miu | A coat and pair of gloves embellished with rhinestones and studs
Image credit Miu Miu | A slip dress with spiky shoulder straps
The pristine, untouched snowy landscape provided the perfect backdrop for the pastel-shaded outfits and their bright accessories to be showcased. Onwards Miuccia’s models marched – past snowy peaks, precipices and ravines, their huskies in tow. Some (the lucky ones) were dressed head to toe in pastel puffer suits, faux fur onesies or shearling coats and others had to brave the cold (but looked very glamorous for it) in embellished strappy slip dresses or pieces made from very delicately constructed yarn or sequins. A determined crew of marchers progressed steadily towards their end destination and respite from the freeze: a huge bonfire in the snowy woods.
Image credit Miu Miu | Arm warmers and snow shoes
Image credit Miu Miu | A padded bodysuit over padded trousers, worn with furry clogs and crocheted hat & scarf
As ever, it was the quirky accessories that stood out for me in this collection. Crocheted and knitted bonnets that tied under the chin and long scarves – often in fabulously outrageous colours like leaf green or custard yellow or strawberry pink – shouted for joy and were a wonderful contrast to the icy pastels of the bubble suits. The crocheted and knitted leggings, some in gorgeous stripes and worn underneath silky satin slip dresses and knitted skirts were cheeky and infinitely covetable! The gloves embellished with the oversized Miu Miu label are worth a mention, as are the mittens and arm warmers. Thigh high furry boots came in natural shades and managed to look cosy and glamorous at the same time. The must-have accessories of this collection are most certainly the cuddly, huggable handbags in shades of the palest pastels and browns.
Image credit Miu Miu | A military-style jacket, studded gloves and faux fur boots
Image credit Miu Miu | A rhinestone embellished coat worn over a peach slip dress
In a collection riddled with contradiction Miuccia Prada took us out of our cosy but confined comfort zones and plunged us into an Alpine landscape – freezing but beautiful. She knows that we’re desperate to venture out, but that at the same time we’re a little wary. (In fairness, a year of confinement with dressing for a life indoors will certainly have had an effect on our fashion psyche.) Miuccia’s collection with its lingerie-like loungewear and its overt weather-defying outerwear presents us with an invitation to be brave. After all, she’s given us all the outfits and accessories to make that leap – albeit in topsy-turvy code … in fact, rather confusingly she gave us pastels (usually associated with lingerie) for outerwear and spiky rhinestones (we’d normally expect on outerwear) on the straps of delicate lingerie-like slip dresses and with that she says, go figure!
In many ways Miuccia Prada is making us address the mental turmoil brought on by months of lockdown and suggests we gear up, dress up, cover up and face the new world bravely. The show culminated with Miuccia’s models arriving at the bonfire in the woods as if part of a sacred ritual in nature. Perhaps what she’s trying to tell us is that connecting with nature may after all be all the healing we’ll need.
Image credit Miu Miu | A studded little black dress
Image credit Miu Miu | A Fairisle-inspired puffer jacket and faux fur handbag
Image credit Miu Miu | A puffer jacket and gloves, thigh high faux fur boots and crocheted accessories
