Miu Miu made ballet flats and underpants stylish again. No wonder it's the fashion brand of the year.
- Lyst named Miu Miu as the top clothing brand of 2023 in its annual Year in Fashion report.
- The Italian design house was extremely influential amongst celebrities and fashion fans this year.
After a year of trendsetting, Miu Miu has been named the top fashion brand of 2023 by Lyst.
"In its 30th anniversary year, Miuccia Prada's playful line became Lyst's Brand of the Year for the second year in a row, with searches increasing 39% year-on-year," the retailer said in its annual Year in Fashion report.
Those searches, according to Lyst, are the result of "viral products, celebrity-packed runway moments, hyped collaborations," and "buzzy campaigns."
The Miu Miu effect
The Italian brand, which was founded by designer and Prada creative director Miuccia Prada in 1992, has long been a staple of the fashion industry.
But 2023 was Miu Miu's year.
Celebrities including Kendall Jenner kickstarted the brand's year with multiple campaigns, and stars like Olivia Rodrigo wore Miu Miu designs for red-carpet events like the Grammys.
And by March, Miu Miu had everyone's attention following its fall/winter runway show during Paris Fashion Week.
The show focused on a series of cardigans, coats, and other outerwear, but had models wear the pieces with underwear styled as pants.
A silk pair modeled by Emma Corrin was especially bold with gold beaded embroidery. The underwear, which was shown on the Miu Miu runway with tights underneath, retails for $5,800 per pair.
And that's not the only underwear-related trend Miu Miu started this year.
At the time of writing, searching "Miu Miu undie" on TikTok results in videos with more than 1.5 million views.
Many of these posts discuss the brand's signature styling of pants or skirts with underwear peeking out from the top, both so that you can see the lingerie waistband and the brand's designer logo.
But a look back at Miu Miu's influence on 2023 fashion would not be complete without the mention of ballet flats.
The controversial shoes came back in full force this year, largely thanks to the Italian brand.
Miu Miu's most popular flats — which are made from satin and have a black band sporting the brand's name across each shoe — cost $950.
So naturally, they've inspired dozens of dupes like those sold at stores like Target and Amazon.
This success and influence might seem like a lot for any brand to live up to in 2024.
But if Miu Miu can conjure the confidence of those wearing underwear as pants in the brand's name, it will probably be just fine.