MIU MIU London club event

A Miu Miu life less ORDINARY

Far from satisfied with the moniker "little sister brand", MIU MIU has flourished, developing a
CHARACTER and devoted following of it's own.

WORDS: GENEVRA LEEK

Chloe Sevigny

Across three chilly autumn days, the sumptuously renovated i Cafe Royal in Piccadilly played host to the-miu-miu-London club event. Champagne flowed, Michelin-starred chefs catered, conversation flowed between the likes of Garage's Shala Monroque and The Gentlewoman's Penny Martin, and carefully curated resort pieces flew off the pop-up store's shelves.

VIP members and guests of the MIU MIU London club event were greeted by window displays from Stephen Jones and Vivienne Westwood, and those without a golden ticket could feel part of the scene by watching the proceedings online. Kate Moss dropped by, accompanied by Jamie Hince, Pixie Geldof was there, a cherry-red Miu Miu bag slung across her body under an army-green Miu Miu pea coat, and Love magazine's Katie Grand turned up in Prada's spring/summer '13 fur florals.

The first incarnation of the roving MIU MIU London club event for thinking women is the latest stroke of genius from the powerhouse brand that encompasses fashion, art, music and film at
the hands of Miuccia Prada. The MIU MIU London club event comes hot on the heels of the
unveiling of the fourth instalment of Miu Miu's Women's Tales short film saga at the Venice film festival last August. It's Getting Late by director Massy Tadjedin shows actresses Patricia Clarkson,
Gemma Arterton, Rinko Kikuchi and Aubrey Plaza getting dressed for a night out at a performance by singer Zola Jesus — all in Miu Miu, of course.

And in October, the MIU MIU brand closed Paris fashion week at the Palais d'lena, with an elaborate wooden set designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas's OMA company, and a spring/summer fashion collection rife with contradiction. "It's about elegance, not elegance. Couture, not couture. Tailoring, not tailoring," Prada told WWD after the show. Denim lined in duchesse satin, ladylike suiting purposely rumpled, fur that appeared tie-dyed, and flat daytime sandals scattered in sizeable crystals. Naturally, it was a hit.

"More than most other designers, Miuccia has exemplified that you can do more with the MIU MIU brand than just sell clothes" says Chloe Sevigny. "She's created a whole lifestyle and she's remained current. Everybody stills looks at what she does on the runway as being the newest and the best, and a lot of people can't really maintain that." If anyone's qualified to comment, it's
Sevigny. You have probably seen her lazily staring out of magazine ads and storefronts in Miu Miu's autumn/winter '12 wallpaper- printed pantsuits and clompy club shoes. But the 38-year-old actress's relationship with Miuccia Prada began 16 years before, when she was first chosen as the face soon after Miu Miu launched in 1993. She was young, indie and in possession of unusual
good looks that made her ideal for communicating what the Miu Miu girl was all about. A kind of intellectual anti-beauty, if you will. "The ultimate Miu Miu girl is a young starlet or one who is young in feeling. And maybe a little nutty," says campaign hairstylist Jimmy Paul, adding that Sevigny epitomises the brand as "a vanguard of what is now".

Prada's unique tack of choosing actresses (Drew Barrymore, Hailee Steinfeld, Mia Wasikowska and Kim Basinger) to represent the label speaks of the brand's complex character and its reach
beyond the realms of fashion. Sevigny came uninitiated to Prada. "I had to do the catwalk, which was terrifying. I came out after Kate Moss - not before, thank God - and I had to have a lesson on how to walk. I was so nervous, and Miuccia gave me a glass of champagne and told me I was going to be fine," recalls Sevigny. "I remember thinking: 'Here is this amazing woman creating this brand that was different from everything that I knew as a kid growing up in Connecticut.'"

Ultimately Prada, 63, granddaughter to the company's founder, is in the business of moving ready-to-wear, bags, shoes and jewelry. And boy, do they move. With her husband, Prada Group's chief executive officer Patrizio Bertelli, driving the expansion strategy tor the brand, Miu Miu is increasing its presence in such growing markets as Brazil, Mexico and China.

With just over 100 directly operated stores, the MIU MIU brand now accounts for an estimated
30 per cent share of a group that also owns the Car Shoe and Church's labels. And all this amid the Eurozone crisis.

A trip to one of the MIU MIU company's factories in Tuscany, Milan or Venice goes some way to explaining why. The fine hides used in the leathergoods; the exhaustive efforts expended in the development of the shoes (each season boasts 400 styles, whittled down from 1,000, each different from the season before); and the uncompromising quality control exercised over ready-to-wear fabrics and garment manufacture, are staggering. Even the award-winning building housing one of Prada's footwear factories, designed by leading Italian architect Guido Canali, adheres to the
company's rigorous principles.

"Whenever you work with [the company] you know everybody wants to please Miuccia the best way they can," Sevigny observes. "Even at a fitting for an event or campaign, or going to a party, there's a sense of excellence and the standard is really high, which I always admire."

Meanwhile, like any devoted fan, Sevigny has amassed a wide archive of treasured Miu Miu pieces. "There is this red coat I wore for years that I was obsessed with and still have," she says. "It has a little brown leather belt attached and it meant so much to me. Ha! All the memories that go along with it. I still cherish that coat. It's not in rotation right now, but I might pull it out." And it's perfectly comprehensible that she will, because with Miu Miu, everything is new again.