We trooped into the Paris Miu Miu store to see Miuccia Prada’s Pre-Fall collection, and there was something nice about that. Seeing a little, non-pretentious show of girls walking in front of us, on carpet, felt like something out of the olden days, long before we were born, when shops and department stores hired local models to parade the latest fashions to the good customers of the county. Between the sensible tailored knickerbocker suits and the high-belted ’70s coats, there was a reassuring air of throwback-ness about the clothes, too—not necessarily because of their historic reference points, but because everything about them was so recognizably Miu Miu–toned to the core.
Sometimes there can be too much rushing on from one thing to another in fashion, and far too much artistic philosophizing—so this time it was refreshing to see Miuccia Prada dispense with all that, and just get on with showing the depth and breadth of product Miu Miu offers. Working upwards from the foot, it might involve the following: baroque brocade ballet slippers decorated with punkish leather straps and buckles and a couple of bars of glitter, tied with crisscross ribbons around the ankles of a pair of thick gray ribbed hiking socks, worn under a floral A-line midi dress, which comes layered over a sweater, and then has a coat on top, a checkered cashmere scarf, and the finishing touch of a pair of dangly diamanté earrings. That might not be a literal description of a single outfit, but you get the drift: The more you looked, the more desirable the layerings became—the emerald green corduroy coat, the plum and bottle green velvet platform ankle boots, the cream smock with the frilly yoke, the knitted cape, the poisonous purple balloon-sleeved guipure lace dress, the almost “pre-worn” tote bags several girls were carrying, as if they’d had them forever.
Truthfully, there is no great narrative to relate about these clothes—or if there is, Miuccia Prada wasn’t there to tell it. All there is to say is that she did away with the costs of hiring a venue and an architect to build a set this season, and thereby let us concentrate all our attention on the many merits of her clothes and accessories. If there was one disappointment, it was this: Unlike in the olden days, the show did not lead to an opportunity to move over and shop the collection there and then. Given the chance, there were plenty of people in the audience who’d have cleaned out the stock.
