The Miu Miu presentation went down in the Paris Automobile Club next door to the newly reopened post-renovation Hôtel de Crillon. Elle Fanning and Milla Jovovich were at a table up front, and Gwendoline Christie was holding court further back. Everybody was swilling Champagne and chomping on candied almonds. Haute couture week was once considered the sleepier, easier cousin of ready-to-wear, but Spring and Resort shows and at least one genuine Fall 2017 couture collection were stacked back-to-back, starting from 10 o’clock this morning. At least Miuccia Prada knows how to throw a good party. Tommy Genesis, the Canadian fetish rapper with a thing for F-bombs, warmed up the crowd, and there was an all-star model cast: Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Joan Smalls, and Jourdan Dunn mixed with the newcomers.
As for the collection, it picked up where Ms. P’s men’s Prada show left off: with jumpsuits. Genesis’s baby blue compact knit romper started the proceedings, and after that they came fast and furious: short or long, in an orange compact knit, in all manner of silk prints, in navy satin, in gingham, and in sturdy cotton with the torso and sleeves cinched at the waist. Many of them featured patches with the name Marilyn stitched on them, as in Monroe, presumably; “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” was one of the oldies but goodies on the soundtrack. Prada mashed up body-repair-shop uniforms with Hawaiian prints and a good number of furs featuring trompe l’oeil intarsia patches and delicate bracelet sleeves.
Now you can get an all-in-one from just about every brand out there these days. What distinguishes Miu Miu’s are those patches, the strass embroideries, and the special pieces they were paired up with—the vaguely 1940s silk blouses with crystals at the shoulders come to mind. This is a brand, like its big sister label, that has become very clever about creating identifiable, and hence collectible, items. Along those lines, the intarsia furs are going to be a hit.