Miu Miu Reinvents the Micro-Mini Set, Reintroduces Menswear for Fall

Miu Miu seems to have hit the right note with its viral micro-mini and crop top set from last season. The designs have been literally everywhere, from editorials to celebs on red carpets, bringing the brand front and center on social media and introducing the line to an entirely new generation of fans.

So it makes sense that the label would take the ubiquitous silhouette and reinvent it again for fall 2022. On March 8th, the final day of Paris Fashion Week, guests took their seats at the Miu Miu show, settling onto the reclined beach chairs decorated with monster illustrations from artists Nathalie Djurberg and Hans Berg. The presentation opened, of course, with a definitive new take on the very famous skirt. Here, it was done up in white with little pleats and a more pronounced waistline, the silky logo’d underwear peeking out from the top. Miuccia Prada is nothing if not referential—and the silhouettes, along with the skirts paired with polos, recalled motifs dating as far back as some of her collections from the ’90s.

Speaking of the ’90s—that’s when Miu Miu’s menswear line made its debut in 1999, before it came to an end in 2008. Will the Miu Miu man be making a comeback? Perhaps the fall 2022 runway was a way to test out the idea. Miu Miu experimented heavily with gender fluidity and androgyny last season, and it seems the pendulum continues to swing that way, as there were glimpses of full men’s looks throughout the collection. Knitted tennis sets in navy blue and white came paired with shearling lined coats.

For the Miu Miu fan who strays more girlish than sportish, eating up all the crystal embellishment contrast from the brand, there were plenty of options, too: sheer crystalline dresses dripping with rhinestones, layered organza with brocade-like effects and crystals that stand out as trompe l'oeil jewelry, necklines plunging down just a few inches above the belly button with bedazzled collars in 1940s silhouettes. Some of the footwear was exciting to look at as well. The ballet flats layered with ribbed socks, for example, felt youthful and free-spirited, but also tapped into the #balletcore obsession that seems to be everywhere right now.

But it was Miu Miu’s fall outerwear that felt the most monumental and conceptually layered. Heavy pilot jackets were reinvented with python shoulders and even more crystals, tapping into Miuccia Prada’s rareness as a designer who truly designs as a woman, with women in mind. The hard and soft, sensuous and protective contrasts of the outerwear felt particularly relevant to the DNA of the Miu Miu label and resonated with the backdrop of the show being presented on International Women’s Day.

Back to that set people can’t stop talking about. The Internet collectively rejoiced when Paloma Elsesser was seen in last season’s micro-mini—so it felt a bit like a missed opportunity when the fall 2022 collection had no body diversity on the runway once again. Still, Miu Miu’s famous set, along with its newer iterations in the form of micro-shorts and some longer options as well, will undoubtedly continue to spark discourse and some strong opinions. We’re sure that’s intentional, anyway.