Miu Miu of late tends to be where Miuccia Prada's girliest, most youthful impulses are unleashed. Walking into the Palais d'Iéna for her first-ever formal presentation of the label's Pre-Fall collection—how has she managed to avoid the four-seasons-a-year cycle this long?—the first thing you noticed were the mannequins' Boy Scout kerchiefs and Sherlock Holmes hats. Prada is endorsing walking shorts in a big way this season. They came with boxy plaid camp shirts; structured, slightly shrunken blazers; and capelet coats straight out of Scotland Yard.
But it wasn't quite as business-as-unusual as that all sounds. Mixed in amid the more masculine stuff were the sort of retro-quirky prints that once earned Prada her reputation for "ugly chic" and now can be found regularly on the Miu Miu runway. This time they turned up on short dresses with contrasting patch pockets and on thick, fuzzy sweaters that sparkled with Lurex thread. There would be no confusing this collection with her recent Prada men's show, which was almost severe in its sparseness. Case in point: This season's answer to the see-through plastic macs and patchwork candy-colored puffers of Miu Miu seasons past was a trio of glossy crocodile-stamped patent leather raincoats that will doubtless prove irresistible to her fans.
