With her slightly ratted bouffant pony tail, net head scarf, and existentially hip early-sixties clothes, the Miu Miu girl has turned beatnik—sort of—for fall. She showed up, first of all, in a camel checked cape, white shirt, neat black A-line skirt, and chunky patent platform sandals—plain, neat, and intelligent.
She's also instantly recognizable: a stock character who wanders the Prada universe picking up vintage pieces to put together in her dowdy/clever way. She has a collection of Mongolian-lamb wraps and coats with big shaggy collars, as well as paisley-printed skirts, dresses, and coats from that early, mumsy, psychedelic period. She also has a taste for drab knits and dubious suede patchwork in mustard and purple. And her tendency to spike things up with a black leather and chrome chain belt, or a studded bag, indicates a slight propensity for rocker-girl moodiness.
This collection served to reiterate Miuccia Prada's love of what she's often called "banal" clothes. The familiarity of it all didn't push fashion in any new direction; many of these clothes are out there already, in vintage stores and, not least, Miu Miu shops. But in a dull cycle of Milan shows, it stood out pretty well.
