Amid all the fashion chaos, fatigue and gimmicks of 2024, Miu Miu has remained a constant point of strength and stability in today’s tumultuous industry. The reigning queen of fashion Miuccia Prada proved that her crown isn’t slipping anytime soon, generating soaring sales figures, star-studded campaigns and instantly recognisable silhouettes.
In October, it was announced that Miu Miu’s sales more than doubled in the third quarter of 2024, rising by a huge 105 per cent. For the past two years, the Italian brand has seen expansive growth in numbers, while also reclaiming its title as the Lyst Fashion Index’s hottest brand in the world, swiping the top spot from Loewe earlier this year. “Miu Miu has consistently increased every year since 2019, and increased by 208 per cent from 2020 to today,” says Noelle Sciacca, Associate Director of Fashion at luxury online resale site The RealReal.
“Search for Miu Miu has also continued to increase within the past few years, with this year seeing a nearly 30 per cent increase in searches to last year,” Sciacca continues. Basically, Miu Miu continues to prove itself unstoppable. But how exactly, did Prada’s little sister brand become the most coveted label on the planet?
Starting with a good foundation (and some rich family history) always helps. Prada was founded by Mario Prada in Milan over a century ago, in 1913, as a small leather goods brand. In 1949, Mario’s youngest granddaughter Miuccia entered the world. Born and raised in Milan, in her early twenties, Miuccia graduated from Milan University with a degree in political science, and later obtained a PhD in the subject. She was involved in the women’s rights movement, Rivolta Femminile (“Women’s Revolt”), in Italy during the 70s, while simultaneously studying to become a mime artist (yes, you read that right).
By the mid-70s, she had abandoned her career in mime and started working for the family business. She began in the accessories department designing handbags with her mother, before taking over as head designer in 1978. “To want to be a fashion designer was really the worst thing that could happen to me,” she told The Guardian in 2012. “I thought it was dumb and conservative […] But my education at home pulled the other way, giving me a taste for beautiful things, an instinct for fashion.”
After 14 years at Prada and having launched both womenswear and menswear for the house, in 1992, she decided to embark on a new, cheaper womenswear line inspired by her personal wardrobe and named for her own childhood nickname, Miu Miu. The Prada subsidiary launched publicly in 1993 with a cowgirl-themed collection, featuring cowhide, suede, fringing and prairie skirts. It was a deliberate step away from her grandfather’s high luxury vision, and a step towards a playful, personal and rebellious new chapter.
Some people are skilled in identifying birds, some are good at knowing car models, but one of Miuccia Prada’s many talents is spotting the next It-girl of our time. In 1995, two years after Miu Miu’s public launch, the designer tapped 20-year-old Drew Barrymore to front a campaign, shot by Ellen von Unwerth. Soon after, came Chloë Sevigny, who made her catwalk debut walking for the brand’s SS96 show alongside Kate Moss and Milla Jovovich.
As well as walking in the show, Sevigny soon fronted her first of many campaigns for the brand. She’s been a loyal face on the Miu Miu front row, and even directed a film for the label, Carmen, back in 2017. Over the past three decades, Sevigny has become synonymous with the spirit of the house. “All the kids think she’s the shit, all the store owners think she’s the shit,” said writer Walter Cessna in 1993. She’d starred in a Sonic Youth music video filmed in Marc Jacobs’ showroom; modelled for Kim Gordon’s grungy 90s label X-Girl; and made her film debut in Larry Clark and Harmony Korine’s Kids. No one was doing cool like Chloë, so naturally, Miu Miu came calling.
Joining her in the ranks of Miu Miu’s mesmerising, nonchalant girls-next-door were the likes of Maggie Gyllenhaal, Vanessa Paradis, Lindsay Lohan and Lindsey Wixon. “Miu Miu is always the last show of the season and it’s a celebration,” Wixon told Dazed in 2013. “I remember when I first walked for Miu Miu [in 2009], I was wearing a pair of satin platform pumps that had a rounded toe. I felt like I was walking on a cloud, down the carpet-lined runway. It was a dream!”
More recently, in the past few years, Mrs. P has expanded her pool of left-of-field, multi-generational, A-list talent. In recent collections, the likes of Mia Goth, Hillary Swank, Emma Corrin, Little Simz, and Sunday Rose – daughter of Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban – have all walked in catwalk shows. Not only does Miuccia know how to spot an It-girl, she creates them too, as she did for her SS25 show when Willem Dafoe closed the show. Dafoe may already have been a world-famous, Oscar-nominated actor, but now he’s a certified Miu Miu girl too.
TheRealReal’s Noelle Sciacca remembers Miu Miu thriving in the late 00s and into the 2010s – when it was “pumping out must-have trending pieces”. She cites the AW11 peep-toe glitter booties as an example, which the brand reissued in 2016 as part of a capsule collection showcasing the house’s most coveted ‘trophy’ items. Amongst the other trophy pieces were the 60s-inspired minidresses of AW12, as well as the ruffed coats of SS15.
Towards the mid-to-late 2010s, buzz around the brand briefly died down. But not for long. In October 2020, with the SS21 collection, Miuccia Prada returned to her much-beloved 90s house codes and opened with Lila Moss making her catwalk debut. “Sporty mock-neck crop-tops and oversized quilted sets for fall captured positive attention,” says Sciacca.
A year later, in October 2021, came SS22’s viral micro-mini skirt. Less than ten inches long, it was the skirt that lived a thousand lives, travelling the globe and covering countless magazine covers. The SS22 collection marked a fresh, cheeky uniform-inspired era for the brand. Office wear with a mischievous twist, featuring crisp shirts that deliberately revealed bra straps, pencil skirts, pleated tailoring, all in grey, beige and whites – how a St Trinians student might customise her school look. With the collection’s viral success and the coverage that followed (not to mention the high-street dupes) it’s no surprise that retail sales were up 58 per cent in 2023.
As well as the skirt’s virality, the rise in uniform dressing and 2023’s balletcore trend also fed into Miu Miu’s popularity. The AW22 satin ballet pumps became the shoe of the season, harking back to a 2016 collection, triggering a global trend and hundreds of duplicates. At the same time, searches on Pinterest for ‘ballerina style’ exploded by 1,566 per cent, meanwhile balletcore-related TikTok posts currently stand at 94.8 million.
Today, it’s not rare that a fashion show moment triggers a social media frenzy. Whether it’s Bella Hadid being spray-painted at Coperni, Paris Hilton walking for Versace, or Gwendoline Christie being transformed into a Margiela doll, every season we witness a melting pot of celebrity-induced viral moments. What’s unique about Miu Miu is that, in recent years especially, it’s been the clothes that have gone viral, rather than the celebrity wearing them.
Of course, fun brand collaborations have played a part in Miu Miu’s unstoppable success. Take the Miu Miu x New Balance collab which first dropped in 2022. The collection sold out instantly and became the most popular item of 2023’s first quarter, according to Lyst. “The collaboration became an instant must-have, selling out within hours online,” said Lyst at the time. The most recent iteration of the ongoing collab was a divisive, conversation-starting sneaker-clog hybrid, becoming the latest in 2024’s freaky shoes.
As well as collaborations with New Balance, Mrs P has surrounded herself with the coolest names in the business. In 2020, right around the time of the Miu Miu’s subtle rebrand, Russian stylist Lotta Volkova began working closely with the label. Volkova has worked on countless shows and campaigns since, including the most recent holiday campaign featuring Emma Corrin. Making a name for herself as one of the key figures behind Vetements, Volkova went on to work with Demna on Balenciaga and styled shoots for numerous publications, before being welcomed into Miu Miu’s arms. And it’s not just Volkova that Miu Miu enlisted. In recent years, the brand also began working with filmmaker and author Miranda July, plus photographic director Sam Levy, among others.
Miuccia Prada was once described by The New York Times as “the master of the look of not-quite-right”. Whether it’s bedhead hair on the catwalk, missing trousers, or Oscar-nominated actors closing the show, as the rebellious younger sister of a fashion family dynasty, Mrs P likes to keep us guessing – and as a result, is keeping the fun in fashion.
Since Prada is co-creatively directed by Miuccia alongside Raf Simons, Miu Miu is the designer’s only solo line. It’s a playground built on her own personal taste, and should be used as proof that more women fashion designers should be at the helm of great houses.
As it stands, only nine of the world’s top 30 luxury brands are headed up by female creative directors. Louise Trotter became the latest addition to that figure last week, when it was announced she would replace Matthieu Blazy as Bottega Veneta’s new creative director.
If Miu Miu is the most sought-after brand in the world and is led by a woman who is simultaneously juggling her role as co-creative director of one of the most famous heritage houses, then maybe CEOs should be taking note. What’s more, though her designs can be the marker of a true It-girl, she’s an It-girl that spans generations.
Miu Miu’s true magic is that it appeals to all ages. Take collector Gisella Castillo for example, who first discovered the brand when the RE12 collection caught her eye: “What makes Miu Miu special to me is Miuccia’s ability to remind us of our youth, but is ageless at the same time,” she says. “I remember not being able to afford Miu Miu when I was younger and now at age 50, it’s my main go-to brand.”
“Miu Miu is a very true reflection of the identity and ethos of Mrs Prada, with paradoxes and contradictions, juxtapositions and idiosyncrasies. That’s why I’ve always loved it, and I like to think that’s why it’s resonating. It has a character, a wit, a charm, and feels unique,” says AnOther magazine’s fashion features director-at-large, Alexander Fury. “Miuccia Prada – and Miu Miu – is one of fashion’s leaders. And it feels very satisfying that something like that is resonating on a wide scale, without losing a shred of integrity. It’s rare, which is also perhaps what draws people to Miu Miu.”
It has always been a youthful label, but more than any aesthetic, Miu Miu is young at heart. May Miuccia Prada’s reign continue long into 2025 and beyond.
