MILAN — During Milan Design Week, Miu Miu will host its Literary Club for a third time, framing a sophisticated conversation around the 'Politics of Desire.' The event, directed by Miuccia Prada, positions fashion’s dialogue with intimacy within a historical continuum. For centuries, lingerie has been the private architecture of desire, shaping the body and social mores—from the restrictive corsets of the 19th century to the expressive liberation of 20th-century designers. Miu Miu, a brand born in 1993 from the Prada lineage, continues this legacy by using literature to probe the same themes that undergarments have physically articulated.
The program draws from authors Annie Ernaux and Ama Ata Aidoo, using their works on female sexuality and post-colonial independence to spark discussions on consent and self-determination. These literary explorations mirror fashion's own evolution: just as a contemporary bralette represents a shift from constraint to personal choice, the novels examine women reclaiming narrative authority over their bodies and lives. Panels will feature thinkers like Katherine Angel, whose work on consent resonates with the intimate power dynamics historically embedded in dress.
By curating a consultation library on women’s writing, the club echoes the role of lingerie as a silent, potent text. It suggests that understanding desire—whether through lace, literature, or lecture—remains a foundational, and endlessly complex, human project.
Originally reported by WWD