A Brief History of the Miu Miu Girl, From the '90s to Today
From Drew Barrymore in the '90s to Sydney Sweeney at the Met Gala, Miu Miu has been designing a fresh take on what it means to be an It girl for decades.
Few brands in recent memory have managed to be at the forefront of each year's biggest fashion trends as often as Miu Miu. Though the brand was founded back in 1993, it has burst back into the forefront of influential fashion in the last five years, turning heads at various fashion weeks with unforgettable pieces that leave the runway and kickstart sought-after trends. From the ballet flats that sparked a "balletcore" renaissance to the micro miniskirts that dominated fall fashion weeks in 2022, a Miu Miu revolution is afoot. Everything from Miu Miu sunglasses, to handbags, to the Miu Miu x New Balance collaboration is turning to gold.
As the well-known story goes, Miu Miu was founded by Miuccia Prada in the early '90s, and the brand name came from her family nickname. Many within the industry felt that once the Belgian designer Raf Simons joined her in designing Prada, Prada then had renewed energy and time to focus on beloved 'little sister' brand, Miu Miu.
As synonymous as ballet flats are to Miu Miu, so are the it girls. Young actors like Cailey Spaeny and Emma Corrin recently made their runway debuts at Miu Miu; before them, Elle Fanning ushered in the era of young actors on the runway. However, that's not where it all began.
In the early days of the brand, Miu Miu looked to popular celebrities like Drew Barrymore and Chloe Sevigny to represent its style. Chloe Sevigny had a popular campaign in 1996 and has since walked in a Miu Miu runway show. In 2020, she starred in another campaign called "Miu Miu Icons" alongside Kim Basinger. Drew Barrymore's iconic 1995 campaign remains a memorable fashion moment in her career. Drew Barrymore and Chloe Sevigny as the faces of Miu Miu symbolized something larger than just another fashion brand working with A-listers; it showed that the brand wanted to align with artists who are used to working with juxtaposition, and who are used to embodying a complex, versatile persona.
Early Miu Miu in the '90s was the very beginning of the brand curating the archetype of "the Miu Miu girl." According to a recent New York Times article, the term "Miu Miu girl" has been used within the fashion industry for at least a couple decades, but it has only made its way into the public sphere in the last couple of years as Miu Miu has exploded in popularity. Perhaps the archetype can be attributed to Miuccia Prada's interest in paradoxes and contradictions, but the Miu Miu girl is someone who is difficult to describe and also entirely familiar and singular to the brand's aesthetic.
Despite the gendered term, the concept of a Miu Miu girl has less to do with gender and more to do with fluditity and existing in a more complicated space with ease. Regardless of age, gender, race or other identifying factors, a Miu Miu girl manages to be both playful and earnest, dramatic and aloof, messy and put together at the same time.
These days, an updated roster of A-list actors, musicians and models has taken over as the new Miu Miu girls. With actors like former L'OFFICIEL cover star Emma Corrin, Stormy Reid and Sydney Sweeney consistently wearing Miu Miu to premieres and being spotted in ready-to-wear looks on the regular, the name Miu Miu has become synonymous with 21st century style. Plus, supermodels and "nepo baby" celebrities like Gigi Hadid and Hailey Bieber have had major campaign moments with the brand (with Hailey's Spring 2022 campaign, and Gigi's 2024 bag campaign).
Musicians like Troye Sivan and FKA Twigs have walked in Miu Miu fashion shows as well, carrying on the tradition of Miu Miu tapping unexpected guests to walk in its runway shows. Singer-songwriter Ethel Cain has walked in a Miu Miu show too, and she also is starring in this year's Fall/Winter 2024 campaign. This roster of different brand ambassadors, from supermodels to edgy indie artists, showcases Miu Miu's dedication to working with contradictions and proving that its designs are versatile.
While the brand's level of popularity and reach has skyrocketed since its beginnings in the early 90s, this focus on inviting a diverse array of artists to represent the brand has been consistent from the very beginning.
In the recent New York Times article, Ashley Brokaw, Miu Miu's casting director, explained where the ineffable nature of what makes an ideal Miu Miu girl comes from, saying, "Honestly, it’s Mrs. Prada. It’s her. It’s the essence of her. It’s her humor. It’s her girlishness. It’s her playfulness. It’s her.”
Miuccia Prada herself described the Miu Miu girl in the same New York Times article as a balance between contradicting traits. "“There is a strength, and a tenderness,” she said in the article. “For instance, you can want to be beautiful and gentle but also intelligent, political...She isn’t unknowable, because she is present in all of us."
With Miu Miu's consistent rise in success and popularity in the past couple of years, it's clear that the title of a Miu Miu girl will continue to be sought after by every kind of celebrity. Now more than ever, Miu Miu's sphere of influence is taking over the fashion industry and all eyes are on the brand to see how the concept of the Miu Miu girl will continue to evolve.
