Some say Miu Miu is for girly girls. Others—snarky, faceless social media accounts with more opinions than insight—call it basic. (You do you—no shade.) But actually, Miu Miu is for the intellectual girly, the one who loves frou-frou as much as Foucault, who can debate postmodernism while perfecting a bow.
Sure, Miuccia Prada’s references aren’t as overtly cerebral as those of her mother brand, Prada—now co-designed with Raf Simons—but that’s the point. Miu Miu’s intellect is effortless. It’s not trying too hard. It just is. And Fall 2025? A delicious clash of contradictions, proof that the Miu Miu girl—or guy, or anyone really—can have it all.
As I arrived at Le Conseil économique, social et environnemental (aka the stunning 1937 building that houses France’s Economic, Social, and Environmental Council—see? She’s a brainiac!), I was immediately met with pandemonium. A swarm of die-hard fans, iPhones locked and loaded, staked out in the cold. They were here for the K-pop royalty. But we were all here for the fashions. In solidarity, I wore my gray Miu Fall 2023 zip-up hoodie.
The invitations shimmered in golden canary, covered in a lush, silk material. Inside, the show space gave luxury sensory deprivation chamber—walls and tiered seating wrapped in padded fabric, much like the invitation itself. If Miu Miu’s girl is the thinking girl, this was the perfect incubator for her thoughts. A few wooden-backed chairs contrasted the softness.
Gasps rippled through the room as the first look appeared: a figure-hugging dusty pink long-sleeve top, a silk bronze pencil skirt, sheer slate socks, and brown loafers—faux fur stole draped, black patent leather lady bag in tow. Frantic Notes app scribbling. “Wait, are we in a Douglas Sirk movie?” I texted a friend. The reply was instant: “Yes, but she’s read Judith Butler.”
The references nodded to the 1950s but with a subversion that felt distinctly modern. Bullet bras peeked out from beneath smart ribbed sweaters and short-sleeved tank tops, sculptural yet soft. There was a hyper-feminine silhouette—wasp waists, pencil skirts, an aura of old-Hollywood restraint—but tempered by the kind of insouciance only Miu Miu can pull off. It was femininity, but with a knowing wink.
Colors were understated but impactful: deep chocolates, moody charcoals, rich creams, punctuated by those sharper, almost electric hues. Fabrics ranged from the sumptuous (buttery leathers, plush wools) to the subtly subversive (crinkled satins, deliberately wrinkled cottons)—as if the Miu Miu girl had worn these pieces for years, lived in them, intellectualized in them.
But just when it seemed poised to stay in its muted elegance, Mrs. P threw in a shock of checks—bright, almost acidic shades of green, red, and orange slicing through classic patterns, disrupting the primness with a bolt of irreverence. Elsewhere, bursts of purple and pink softened—or heightened—the archival references, proving that color can be both sophisticated and downright F-U-N.
Menswear had its moment, too—perhaps a harbinger of something official? (Please launch a full menswear line. I am on my knees.) Nettspend, the 17-year-old American rapper, strode in, effortless in a light brown wool jacket with a black fuzzy collar and slouchy trousers—somewhere between mid-century refinement and nonchalant cool. (Add2cart.)
Then, Sarah Paulson—our favorite scream queen—appeared in a black silk-nylon blend off-the-shoulder dress, paired with a structured 1950s hat in inky black, gray socks, and green snakeskin heels—a look that could have belonged to a Hitchcock heroine. Laura Harrier followed in the same silhouette, but in sleek ivory white, a brown hat, camel socks, and chocolate heels—an exercise in delectable contrast.
It was only after the final bow that I clocked Sydney Sweeney, A$AP Rocky, and Emma Corrin sat together in the audience, looking equally transfixed. The K-pop stars, the It girls, the fashion intelligentsia—it was the kind of collection that made everyone in the room feel like they got something.
And really, isn’t that the essence of Miu Miu? To provoke, to charm, to intellectualize and satirize all at once? Or, in simpler terms—to have a brain and be cute about it.