If the Prada show was the exam of fashion week, then Miu Miu was the post-results celebration; we look at its highlights
If the Prada show was the exam of fashion week, then Miu Miu was the post-results celebration – and on Saturday night, on the eve of Couture, Miuccia Prada hosted some of the world's most renowned partygoers at the Miu Miu Club. Mrs Prada is no stranger to a party; her launch of the Double Club back in 2008 was a Studio 54-meets-Carsten Höller extravaganza, and in 2012 her four-day takeover of Cafe Royale for Miu Miu London was an almost historic salon. But this season's affair was how she decided to showcase Resort 2016: a celebration of old and new, uniting much-loved archive prints with new-season Prada fabrications, throwback club tunes with contemporary decor and supermodels of yore with those of today and tomorrow. Here, we look at the greatest hits of a collection that was more than just a compilation of those that have gone before...
A Festive Spirit
With Kate Moss, Marc Jacobs and Naomi Campbell mingling among the cast of Ru Paul's Drag Race (including beloved Sharon Needles) within a neon-lit, scaffolded showspace-come-nightclub, the atmosphere was distinctly Hacienda. Girls who last season wore their hair slightly straggled on the runway were now fully embracing sweaty, disco styles or the sort of messy up-do manufactured in the middle of a dancefloor; and the models really did walk straight through the dancefloor itself.
"Club culture was distilled to core components of Kraftwerk and cocktails – and then glammed up for a fashion crowd"
As of late, Mrs Prada has been wandering ever further into the territory of a messy, 80s all-nighter with vinyl fabrics, John Waters soundtracks and mini minidresses – but for the Miu Miu Club, it was all done with the understated chic that always sets her apart. The sorts of canapes that you might grab as you get off a night bus (burgers, mac and cheese) were decorated with caviar, a scummy bathroom replaced by a powder room "evocative of a ladies' salon" where one could spritz the new Miu Miu perfume, instead of sticky vinyl seating there was "white carpet-upholstered furniture lend[ing] a subtle sense of luxury". Essentially, club culture was distilled to core components of Kraftwerk and cocktails – and then glammed up for a fashion crowd.
A Revival of Old and New
Miu Miu S/S10 is a collection that has gone down in fashion history as one of particular renown, with naked ladies, cats and swallows printed on dresses with diamante cut-outs and and shirts with oversized collars. Luckily for those of us who didn't get our hands on it first time round, Resort 2016 ressucitated the classics, pairing them with the floral appliqued leather jackets of S/S11, the cowboy mules of S/S12 and the stripes and holey fabrications of Prada Resort 2016. It was a medley of greatest hits – but, with today's (now, last weekend's) date writ large across the dresses and jackets and a distinct update of a once-girlish attitude, Mrs Prada was reminding us that dated doesn't have to mean passé.
"Mrs Prada was reminding us that dated doesn't have to mean passé"
For a woman who has spent the past few seasons across both of her brands re-using hairstyles and details in a quiet commentary on the speed of fashion, it was a deliberately clear statement on how the world of luxury is accelerating towards an unsustainably breakneck speed. And any woman who can turn a Steven Tyler throwback fur earring into a contemporary fashion statement has definitely reached legendary proportions.
Feline Frenzy
The kitty theme didn't stop with the shirts or shoes; in fact, the Miu Miu club was showcasing more than just Resort 2016, but also celebrated the launch of the house's first perfume and revealed its campaign starring Stacy Martin and Truman the cat. "It's a refreshing project; it shows a very sophisticated Miu Miu girl, but she's also playful," explained Caroline Javoy, vice-chairman of Marketing at Coty Inc. (who are responsible for the fragrance launch). "And who does she play with? What does she play with, actually? Truman."
Truman the cat (six years, six months old) "doesn't even know he is becoming famous. He loved our bottle and wanted to steal it from Stacy. And why Truman? Not just because we like cats, but because the cat motif is a recurring feature through the brand." And so, from the fragrance, to the hairstyles, to Truman himself, the Miu Miu Club was a venture through the archives that turned out thoroughly modern.
"From the fragrance, to the hairstyles, to Truman himself, the Miu Miu Club was a venture through the archives that turned out thoroughly modern"
