By Giulia Piceni. Cover image courtesy of Vogue Runway.
Two white cubes. Who knows if they were really made of sugar, or was that salt? You’d have to ask the few brave people who tried to taste them to find out when they received the invitation to Miu Miu’s SS25 show, christened ‘Salt Looks Like Sugar’.
Miu Miu at Art Basel Paris set up an artistic showcase at Palais d’Iéna
The Miu Miu fashion show for the Spring/Summer 2025 took place at the exclusive Palais d’Iéna in Paris, known for its blend of art, cinema, and fashion. The venue was also used for the multi-layered Tales & Tellers project developed by contemporary artist Goshka Macuga for Art Basel Paris 2024 (from October 16 to 20, 2024), where Miu Miu is also the main partner for the public programme.
The fashion show served a dual purpose. On the one hand, it aimed to investigate what it means for a woman to look at herself in the mirror and the feeling of vanity it evokes, in line with the Miu Miu Women’s Tales series. On the other hand, the theme of vanity was closely linked to the overarching theme of deceit, applied on a larger scale to our contemporary panorama.
Fashion, art, and contemporary writings all came together during the show, with each element contributing to the overall narrative. Here is our take on these aspects, which may help you understand the show better.
A Blend of Fashion, Art, and Philosophy, how Miu Miu at Art Basel Paris spreads the cards once again
While Miu Miu is Prada’s younger, more playful and whimsical brand, it certainly doesn’t lack substance. Its multidisciplinary approach to art and cinema should serve as a model for many other brands. The well-executed marketing strategies clearly reflect a sincere and genuine intent, which was fully demonstrated in this show. The setting of the latest SS25 show resembled a newspaper assembly line. Although I didn’t attend the runway show, I can’t help but imagine the scent of freshly printed paper and ink lingering in the air.
The Truthless Times: A Commentary on Media Manipulation
Before the first model appeared on the catwalk, a short film by Polish-born artist Goshka Macuga was shown on the screens flanking the runway. In the film, Pathos and Logos are undercover researchers working for The Truthless Times, a newspaper founded by the Queer Labour Party (QLP). In line with Aristotle’s rhetorical theory, Pathos embodies emotional appeal, while Logos represents rational discourse. A personal conflict arises when Logos falls in love with a young philosopher and hides this from Pathos. After a tense confrontation, the resolution is left to an unseen third presence, Ethos, which subtly influences the audience’s interpretation of events by appealing to their moral consciousness. Philosophically, Ethos refers to the intellectual and moral authority of the speaker, their reputation, and the credibility of their specific argument.
This short film perfectly captures our bewildering post-truth era. As ideological activism intersects with personal spheres and the manipulation of reality lurks around every corner through fake news and misinformation, critical thinking remains our sole lifeline.
For the News, I Only Trust The Truthless Times!
If it weren’t for the absence of paragraphs and images, The Truthless Times, a newspaper created by contemporary artist Goshka Macuga and distributed during the runway show, would closely resemble a traditional journal. The apparent lack of visual content may seem paradoxical, given our reality is saturated with imagery, but this choice carries a deeper commentary. Since the advent of AI, our relationship with images – especially in terms of their creation – has undergone a profound transformation. Once, a picture began with a mixture of lines and colours, but now it is generated through words, specifically prompts. In The Truthless Times, images are replaced by words, which briefly describe the content of the allocated space, almost like captions.
Additionally, the publication doesn’t have traditional text. Instead, QR codes replace words, along with fatalistic headlines. For instance, the headline “Ending Unending As Future Moves to Past” – which was splashed all over the place, even on the photo wall – links to an article by curator and writer Shumon Basar titled We’re in the Endcore Now. In this piece, Basar discusses the concept of endcore, describing it as “a verb, a predicament, a texture of the time we call the present.”
Fashion Trends in the Age of TikTok: The Rise of Chaoscore
In his article, Basar also explores fashion, transitioning from a commentary on the fast pace of modern life to TikTok trends, particularly the prevalence of ‘cores’. He notes that while art movements used to span decades, today’s trends evolve rapidly, with TikTok being a prime example. He highlights the influence of Bella Hadid’s chaotic fashion style, which popularised the term “Chaoscore” on TikTok. The look Basar mentions is a blend of vintage heirlooms, thrift-store finds, and the latest viral Miu Miu items, resulting in a style driven by subconscious impulses. He concludes by stating that “Chaoscore is Endcore’s style du jour.”
Curiously, this very aesthetic appeared in the latest Miu Miu runway show, styled by Lotta Volkova, masterfully blending fashion with the sociological observations from Basar: when form meets content.
Chaoscore Styling: A Bold Fashion Statement
And I dare to say the styling was chaoscore to the bone.
The combination of clothing from completely different styles created a sense of urgency, amplified by the moody, subdued backdrop. Some garments were intentionally left undone in the back, creating a peek-a-boo effect through contrasting coloured hems of underwear and wool cardigans used as corsets. These out-of-place elements added a playful twist to the overall look. It felt like the Miu Miu women were discovering these pieces for the first time, reinterpreting them in unexpected ways while still keeping them wearable – because Miuccia Prada’s designs are always meant to go beyond the runway. Her self-imposed rule to keep things practical pushes her to experiment even more with everyday and contemporary fashion.
On the catwalk, we saw models wearing crisp white cotton slip dresses that looked like undergarments. These were paired with gorpcore staples in contrasting technical fabrics. Waxed autumn jackets were matched with summer flip-flops and cut-out bodysuits layered over pleated grey wool skirts to create a modern, monastic vibe. These makeshift outfits played with contradictions, pairing classic items with bold and provocative pieces to transform them into something entirely different.
But we’re reminded that nothing is quite what it seems. What appears to be ordinary nylon – a favourite material of Prada – is actually luxurious silk. Who would have guessed? Salt may look like sugar, but it’s only by challenging perceptions that the truth surfaces. And this truth extends far beyond fashion.
