by By now, fans of luxury fashion are used to the eye-watering prices of their favorite brands. In recent years, the cost of a classic Chanel handbag has tripled to £8,000, and Hermes’ turbocharged increases have done nothing to stop sales rising 17 per cent in the final quarter of 2023. With designer dresses costing more more than £3,000 and even hoods. costing up to £1,800, most fashion enthusiasts would admit that when checking the price of the items on their wish list, nothing surprises them.
That is, until they met eyes on £600 Miu Miu pants. No; these are not “pants” in the American sense, with a waistband, zip and two legs – features that might at least go some way to justifying their cost. They are not even Bridget Jones-eque “big knickers”, but as bare as they come. Low hip, high leg and sculpted bottoms, they conjure images of a deeply bronzed sunbather in the Ibiza Eighties, better understood by their colours, which include canary yellow, pistachio green, bullet-box red and bright orange.
But if you are imagining that the exorbitant prices and challenging proportions of the pants have created a great storm of indifference, you would be wrong. According to fashion technology company Lyst, Miu Miu pants are riding high – or rather, low – as the third hottest fashion item in the world.
These are the results of the Lyst Index, a quarterly report that analyzes the online shopping behavior of more than 200 million shoppers, aggregating search, browsing and purchase history with social media mentions and engagement statistics to gather a final result.
For those who think the world has finally gone mad, while an overpriced pair of yellows may seem frivolous, the thinking behind them is just that. Fashion is a very serious business; one of the largest industries in the world. At a time when tough economic conditions have left worthy brands like Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent struggling – parent company Kering recently announced group profits are likely to fall by 40 to 45 percent – it’s significant to see which brands doing well.
The best brand of all is Miu Miu – a label whose recent output is nothing but pants. On Wednesday, its owner, the Prada Group, announced an 89 percent increase in Miu Miu sales in the first quarter of 2024, building on 58 percent growth in 2023. It was launched in 1992 as a “little sister” range. more affordable. to Prada, Miu Miu is overshadowing its older and more cerebral sister, whose sales were up 7 percent in the same period. According to its research, Lyst ranks Miu Miu as the hottest brand in the world according to search data, with Prada in second place.
This is not just a result of hype, says Lyst. “Miu Miu’s strong storytelling and cultural relevance sets it apart,” says Katy Lubin, Lyst’s vice president of communications. “The brand is seen as warm, but also timeless. Shoppers also love her distinctive styling, which has fueled a new obsession with underwear as outerwear.”
In fact, thanks to Miu Miu, the “pants for day” trend has been on the rise for a while now, with celebrities including Emma Corrin, Bella Hadid and Alexa Chung all rocking the challenging look recently , as well as many influential people. TikTok and Instagram. Like all Miu Miu pants (previous iterations have included sequins and silk), his latest £600 pair is perfectly positioned to provide those crucial viral moments that drive such successful sales.
But if Miu Miu is smart about creating virality (micro-mini spring 2022 is another huge hit on social media), there are other reasons for its amazing success. First of all, Miuccia Prada, the talented 74-year-old Italian who designed her own style recently graced an American cover. Vogue. Unlike many brands that have languished since the death of their founders, Prada and Miu Miu have a sense of authenticity, combined with a strong attitude that many of their peers lack.
Second, Miu Miu fashion shows are real talking points. As well as front-row seats to a phalanx of the freshest actors, singers and players, the clothes on stage are much nicer – and easy to wear – than their £600 pants would suggest. understanding. At his most recent show in Paris in March, a diverse cast of women took to the stage, including supermodel Gigi Hadid, 29, rapper Little Simz, 30, and actress Kristin Scott Thomas, 63.
It’s unlikely that Scott Thomas will be seen in £600 Miu Miu pants anytime soon, but the casting of the show neatly illustrated Miu Miu’s appeal to women in a number of different roles and stages of life. Most of their customers are not skin-tight, but cash-rich and time-poor professionals looking for stylish wardrobe solutions to suit their busy lives.
Although the pants were styled in the womenswear show with shirts, sandals and trench coats, their unisex appeal was not lost on the men. “If I bought all the colors it would cost £4,200,” menswear stylist and consultant Simon Chilvers recently said on Instagram. “Are you forced to pick one? It would be brown.” Many men noted their resemblance to Speedos, a range of skimpy swimming briefs popular in the seventies and eighties.
Only Miu Miu could make budgie smugglers (as the style was known) popular again. For those who wear them with nothing but a T-shirt and a smile, there is another way. Simply add a pair of jeans or shorts and pull up their waistband, ensuring that all-important logo is visible. As Miuccia Prada said backstage after the show: “The point is that you can choose what you wear.” And – thank God – how you spend it.
Recommended
Kristen Stewart proves that any trouser look is here to stay
Read more
