At Miu Miu, preppy castaways take to the runway

In a midnight-blue room, lit by the image of a cloudy sky, the Miu Miu girls took over the uniforms of past seasons enriching them with a whole new theatrical feel. To present Miu Miu's SS24, Miuccia Prada wanted every last detail to be taken care of with the utmost diligence, so much so that the artist chosen for the set design of the show invented a special fragrance for the occasion. This afternoon, every corner of Auguste Perret's Palais d'Iéna was transformed, Miu Miu's identifying codes reinterpreted through the imagery of the Qatari-American artist Sophia Al-Maria, an apocalyptic stage of technological ruins, amidst metal columns, radio speakers and tv screens projecting the film Gravity & Grace directed by the artist herself. Miuccia Prada's youngest brand, Miu Miu has once again established a two-way relationship between contemporary art and fashion, a space that's constantly evolving, challenging the conventions of the industry for thirty years now and still managing to capture the attention of the newest generations. Unlike the last few seasons, which were marked by a positive dash towards a boarding school aesthetic, from ironically ripped uniforms reduced to mini-miniskirts to geek chic eyeglasses, Miu Miu's SS24 had a slight feeling of tragedy.

The show started with a loud roar, the call of a thunderstorm. After lightnings flashed, the Miu Miu cast took to the runway to the rhythm of a solemn soundtrack. Oversized blue jackets with the brand's logo embroidered in gold covered the shoulders of models in men's swimming trunks, later replaced by electric blue cotton skirts, balloon mini-skirts full of frou frou and white or midnight blue ruffles. On their feet they sported colourful sandals, on their ankles what could have been friendship bracelets. Miu Miu's first SS24 looks evoked images of a summer at boarding school, it being the uniform stolen from the boy from the next classroom or the rowing team swimsuits dangling from brown leather bags filled with knick-knacks. The juxtapositions were deliberately made to look rushed, a symptom of a morning routine performed listlessly and without paying too much attention, as the outfit to wear is always the same and the alarm clock always seems to be too loud in the early hours of the morning. 

Some looks added another old-school element thanks to drop waist dresses in gold sequin embroidery and ivory nightgowns, while new footwear offerings, from boat shoes to new New Balance trainers, were inserted alongside last season's Church - this time untied. With garments belonging to a classical and classist imagery, linked to campus life and parties organised without the professors knowing, Miu Miu's styling brought to the catwalk a work of fiction whose climax was introduced by a dramatic change of rhythm, of music as well as of looks. After reiterating some of the brand's most famous style codes, including the low waist trousers, mint green layering and the clash between sportswear and preppy style, the catwalk saw the arrival of models bearing a worried look. In opaque capes, suits and dresses in a material similar to isothermal covers, the gold tin foil looks motivated the viewer to wonder whether a shipwreck had occurred during Miu Miu's boat party. 

At this point in the show, the collection was made more sombre by looks that explored a total black look in pencil skirts and lace inserts, while immediately afterwards the interceding of a piece of classical music and a few stiletto heels gave the show a lighter feel. Concluding the show was not Gigi Hadid, in a brown bomber jacket and a below-the-knee skirt supported by a large belt with a buckle, but a model wearing a black cape held in place with one hand, Miuccia Prada's signature style, bringing to mind a graduation gown. Is a storm coming? Is the sky falling? This was the title of a fashion show that, exploring «a logic of today's beauty, exploding and shrinking,» brought to Paris the same emotional charge of an adolescent in the grip of his own emotions, too big and too strong to be explored with serenity, like a stormy sea.