Miu Miu Clothing: The Rebirth Of An Icon
Authenticity is a superpower.
Just ask Miuccia Prada. Her clothing brand Miu Miu, founded as her own playground in the industry, has been a generational fashion icon for over 30 years. And 2023 was its biggest year to date.
For Miu Miu, 2023 meant:
- The number 1 brand position in the world (LYST).
- Its second consecutive year in the top 10 brands of the year (according to LYST).
- An 82% sales growth (Prada Group).
- A 50% increase in searches (Prada Group).
- Some of the most desired products of the year in 2023 and 2022 (LYST).
But what is the secret of Miu Miu's success? Let's discuss the brand's keys in this blog post.
The Essence Of Miuccia Prada
Heiress to the Prada empire; creator of silhouettes and trends in the 80s and 90s still prevalent today; cover star of the recent issue of Vogue US… If we were to list Miuccia Prada's professional achievements, we would simply run out of space. However, after this impressive career trajectory, Miuccia felt somewhat constrained to explore her more playful creativity. That's why, in 1993, she founded the brand Miu Miu.
Miu Miu, christened under Miuccia's family nickname (''Miu Miu''), opened up a whole new creative horizon for the designer. There, Prada could explore a limitless imagination, forging what would become the rebellious little sister of the Prada giant. In its 31 years, the firm has enjoyed moments of high impact, such as the omnipresence of its Miu Miu Matelassé in the most sought-after handbags of the 2000s.
However, no moment in the history of the house compares to the peak it is experiencing in the 2020s. Some talk about the resurgence of Y2K fashion (or 2000s), others about its new dedication to the brand after incorporating Raf Simons into the Prada team. For us, Miu Miu demonstrates the power of being in the right place at the right time.
The Most Coveted Pieces
At Miu Miu, Miuccia Prada is clear: if she overthinks the meaning of a garment too much, the design won't make it into the collection. Simple, and effective.
This simplicity and spontaneity in the design of its collections have allowed the brand to maintain a fresh and youthful air throughout its trajectory. So, what can we theorise about the stage of its new splendour? The undeniable influence of Generation Z.
The collection that inaugurated the new wave of frenzy for the brand was its March 2022 runway show, where the brand presented its viral Miu Miu ballet flats. Shortly after the show, Pinterest noted a 1566% growth in searches for terms related to ballet flats and the so-called ballet-core (or ballet aesthetic). It wasn't the first time the brand could be responsible for this trend (as happened in 2016), however, the influence of TikTok and the speed of its users since 2020 has turned the house into a flagbearer of the new generation.
The consolidation of Generation Z in the job market and its new purchasing power has enhanced its influence on the most sought-after and desired pieces. Thus, pieces like the Miu Miu ballet flats, the Arcadie Bag, or the Wander Bag have become the most sought-after pieces of 2023. Its collections have resonated strongly in the Asian market according to Lorenzo Bertelli (CEO of the Prada Group), fueled in turn by the brand's association with international stars of the K-Pop phenomenon.
The Height Of Pop Culture
Of course, a brand is only as strong as those who wear it.
Emma Corrin, Troye Sivan, Emily Ratajkowski, Hailey Bieber, Rosalía, Julia Hobbes, Gigi Hadid, Emma Chamberlain, Sidney Sweeney… This long list of names encompasses key figures of Generation Z who have been and are the face of the brand.
Speaking of the influence of the TikTok generation, combined with the trajectory of a legendary brand, Miu Miu has known how to ride its own wave of success to the top of the industry. But does dressing celebrities to top the world's lists come solely in 2023? Indeed, no. That's why the Miu Miu women's clothing brand has devised a series of strategies with the support of its own infrastructure.
They say that when you want to start a new project, you should first look at the resources that already exist around you. Thus emerges Church's x Miu Miu; the union of two iconic footwear lines but with an audience that could not be more antithetical between them. Church's x Miu Miu opens the door of Miu Miu to the more classic audience of Church's, a well-known shoe for diplomatic figures in history. Likewise, the collaboration creates a new horizon for the Miu Miu audience, rejuvenating Church's shoes with the quirky flair of Miu Miu. The collection already has two editions.
Miu Miu x New Balance is another range with more than one edition, bringing together sneaker fans with the house of Miuccia. Championing earth tones, already a hallmark of this phase of the brand, Miu Miu x New Balance is a collaboration with more similar audiences and brings back the myth of collectible sneakers.
On the other hand, 2023 has been a year in which social initiatives and pop-up events have gained more strength than ever. As part of its strong strategy, and reinforcing its union with the popular culture of Californian fashion in the early 2000s, the brand hosted its first Miu Miu Summer Club in Malibu, adorning the famous Malibu pier.
With a constellation of star guests and brand ambassadors, the event attracted the American press. While it may seem like an isolated event, at the end of 2023, the management team of the Prada Group announced that its presence in the American market had been irregular and scarce to date. Hoping for a substantial improvement in its impact in the Americas in 2024, the brand seems to have a clear positioning strategy in its deck.
And if all this weren't enough, in 2023, the Miu Miu Women's Tales Committee was established, an initiative to celebrate female voices in cinema. As the director of her own cinematic universe, Miuccia Prada has aligned herself with strategies that are honest to her own brand. Thus, her feminist initiative debuted at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. As a result of the event (as an anecdote), some of the most viral looks of the house were captured, such as the famous Emma Corrin Miu Miu underwear look or the set that Ángela Molina wore that led her to walk in their latest runway show.
Miu Miu thus emerges from Miuccia's desire to have fun and distance herself a bit from her Prada side. And although it was this dichotomy that gave birth to her project, both houses have grown enough to remain free from comparison. Both dress a very different audience, with one common factor: a profound love for fashion.
And we can conclude that Miuccia's game has been a resounding success
