Sometimes a look presents itself which is instantly iconic, and the Miu Miu mini skirt set is no exception. Touted by It-girls, celebrities and stylists everywhere, the midriff-baring style has won over a legion of fans and reached ‘internet breaking status.’
First seen on the Miu Miu SS22 runway, the collection went viral nearly immediately even back in October when it was first seen in Milan. Since then, you can’t open a magazine without spotting the Miu Miu skirt winking back at you. The micro skirt was paired by Miuccia Prada with equally eye-wateringly short tops and cropped jumpers - with models baring full frontal midriff. It even has its own instagram account @miumiuset. According to Depop searches for ‘Micro Mini Skirts’ on their platform are up 23.2 percent from last year.
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The Miu Miu mini skirt was a key feature of the brands SS22 collection
Since then it has been spotted on the feeds of Emily Ratajowski, Chiara Ferragni and Anna Dello Russo. It has graced the covers of Vanity Fair and i-D. In fact there aren’t many places in fashion you won’t find the Miu Miu skirt. Like an eager ex-boyfriend it just keeps showing up everywhere. Why has it touched the hearts of every sartorialist?
“When an outfit has its own Instagram you know it’s made it,” explains Hello! Fashion's Style Editor Laura Weatherburn, “Miu Miu’s unforgivingly short skirt has been seen in every major fashion editorial and of course on Anna Dello Russo, Hailey Bieber and OG Nicole Kidman. This is one for the fashion history books.” So why do we love it so much. Reminiscent of the early aughts, an era dominated by low-rise trousers - à la Paris Hilton on a night out, Christina Aguilera’s Dirrty video and Britney Spears' I’m a Slave 4 U ensemble - a full midriff-baring look couldn’t get enough attention at the time. Putting it lightly circa 2000 the midriff was more in demand than centre-court Wimbledon tickets.
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New York-based virtual stylist - and founder of the @miumiuset Instagram account - Ashley Langholtz started the popular social media feed with encouragement from her friend, PR Albert Ayal. “To be honest, this account started as somewhat of a joke. I woke up on Monday and literally all my feeds were just filled with memes and editorials of the Miu Miu SS 2022 set," she told us.
"I randomly had the idea to create a ‘fan page’ account sharing all the variations and images created of the set. I have to give a big applause to Miu Miu’s PR team because their placement of the set in basically every editorial has definitely had something to do with the large impact the set has left on the fashion community. It’s also been seen on several body types and many different kinds of people which will cause more people to gravitate towards it."
She added: "The set is just so fun and there are several variations of it, making it so you don’t get bored of seeing the exact same thing over and over again. I think the pandemic also has had an impact on why skirt sets are so popular right now. In March 2020, everyone was ordering matching sweat sets and loungewear sets, so now in spring of 2022, we have progressed to being obsessed with matching skirt sets."
As well as the pandemic’s encouragement of matching sets nostalgia and fond memories of the now iconic early 2000’s looks could be to blame. The midriff reminds us of a simpler time, when we were still wearing lipgloss and N Sync and Backstreet Boy was playing on our radio. The time of unabashed belly baring has become the deriguour reference point for every Gen Z worth their TikTok account. And sometimes a provocative hint of skin will make an outfit instantly memorable and headline grabbing (remember Jennifer Lopez’s iconic green Versace Grammy dress?)
Whatever the reason for the popularity of the outfit, the internet of course has been awash with memes and fashion commentary since the inception of the Miu Miu skirt set. On Twitter, sartorial spectators have reacted, saying: “There's not a day without seeing the miu miu ss22 set…” and “Taking a shot every time i see that miu miu set i’m about to give myself liver failure.” We all know that Kris Jenner works hard… but the Miu Miu skirt works harder.
