Maximalism is so back– at least on Miuccia Prada’s spring 2024 ready-to-wear runway for Miu Miu. The Italian designer presented her label’s latest collection at the Palais Jena on Tuesday, and it was a delightfully curated mess— in the best way possible. Bespectacled models emerged on the catwalk— while a video installation commissioned from Qatari-American artist Sophia Al-Maria showing stuntwoman Ayesha Hussain fiercely drawing a sword and aiming arrows from a bow played in the background— wearing eclectic ensembles that may not typically go together, but were styled deliberately resulting in a unique and creative look.
Donning greasy hair and unbuckled loafers, the Miu Miu woman scurried across the runway with colorful plasters on her toes, underwear as trousers, and a change of footwear poking out of her handbag, alongside perfectly pressed blazers and slacks. The coveted Miu Miu micro miniskirt also made a comeback this season, but this time, she’s less structured and more frilly. Paired with Oxford shirts, polo shirts, and underpants with their waistband peeking out, the low rise ruffled skirt with draw strings is sure to take over our Instagram feeds in the same way that its predecessor (the teeny tiny micro-skirt from the brand’s spring 2022 runway) embarked on a world tour of magazine covers and editorials.
Fashion isn’t just about selling clothes, but also selling an identity for the person who wears them, a concept that Prada is acutely aware of. An antithesis of “quiet luxury,” a fashion trend popularized by the likes of Sofia Richie, “curated mess” isn’t minimalist in its approach, and on the other hand, embraces a more eclectic and chaotic aesthetic by deliberately mixing and matching diverse elements, to create a visually complex and sometimes disorderly look. Allowing for a highly personalized approach to fashion and design, Miu Miu makes it clear that the ultimate luxury is the ability to freely express yourself.
“In an ever-changing world, beauty must echo the complexity of our era: this collection is a search for a reflective definition, a reactive address of beauty for modern times,” Prada said in a press release. “Instead of rigid paradigms, there is a radical expansion, a rich plurality. Not beauty, but beauties, an embracing of unique characters, the joy of life.”
