Miu Miu set is the latest fashion obsession

God Save Miuccia Prada. The Milanese designer is officially the queen of the season, all thanks to that Miu Miu set that is invading magazines and Instagram feeds. She is the deus ex machina behind the most popular outfit of the moment: jumper, shirt or top, all ultra cropped, paired with low-waisted miniskirts with frayed hems. Ever since they first appeared on the PFW SS22 catwalk, these wafer-thin strips of fabric from the Basic Instinct collection have been whispering their hypnotic 2YK song, winning over influencers, celebrities, stylists and fashion addicts, going viral and having their own dedicated IG profile, @miumiuset. 

This visually explosive combo has been sported by every it-girl out there, ready to show off their low-waisted coolness in a way that hasn't been seen since the micro-skirts and exposed belly buttons of Paris Hilton and Christina Aguilera at the start of the new millennium. While Hailey Bieber, Emma Corrin and Lee You-mi sported pullovers and micro minis in the collection's official campaign, all the others took every opportunity, from red carpet to simple selfie, to do the same. Chiara Ferragni and Hunter Schafer wore Miu Miu pieces during NYFW, Emrata on the red carpet, Zendaya for an Interview magazine shoot, Saweetie and Anna Dello Russo for Instagram, Lara Stone for Vogue Czechoslovakia and Nicole Kidman for Vanity Fair. The last (at least until now) to appear with the set of Mrs Prada's brand was Paloma Elsesser for the cover of i-D, in a shot that shows how even a woman over size 40 can wear such a look and opens the conversation on bodies and their representation. This is an important starting point for the debate, considering that just after unveiling the SS22 collection Miu Miu was accused of being one of the brands that, by bringing low waists and tops thinner than a headband back onto the catwalk, promoted a return to an anorexic aesthetic that was already a trend in the early 2000s. 

What makes this pullover and frayed miniskirt the real obsession of the moment? The secret of such a difficult look is much more than a throwback effect or a disruptive trend. It is probably the same one that inspired Miuccia Prada in the development of the collection: a challenge to conventions that leads to new rules, dictated by personality, confidence and identity that also passes through the reinterpretation of male office garments in cropped versions. There is an unprecedented sense of empowerment in wearing the Miu Miu set, which goes beyond the diktat of gender or size that until a few years ago was imposed on that look, so much so that even the model Yugo Takano for Dazed Korea or the beautiful Lara Stone with her prosperous breasts have sported it.

The popularity of the set, however, risks leading to the inevitable overexposure, and despite its aesthetic emphasis on body shapes, there are those on social media who swear that if they took a shot every time they saw it they would have severe liver failure and also those who swear that that mini and that top turn more than a joint at a college party. Still others, seeing the version of the outfit just released by Fashion Nova, advise to prepare for the arrival of a fashion storm.   

Is this the first time an outfit has become a symbol for something? The answer is obviously not: while up until a few decades ago the items that everyone wanted (and perhaps still wants), such as Paco Rabanne's metallic dresses, the Chanel jacket or Versace's dress with safety pins, were limited to becoming cult items chosen by models and actresses, in the age of social media they have turned into memes. Remember Balenciaga's jackets tucked one on top of the other, Rihanna's yellow Met Gala dress or the outfit with a built-in pillow presented by Viktor & Rolf for FW05? Now it's Miu Miu's turn.