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A lot can be learned about a clothing brand by who wears it.
Take Miu Miu, the label overseen by Miuccia Prada, who is also the designer, with Raf Simons, at Prada. Many of those who clamor to wear Miu Miu today are not necessarily its intended audience. While Miu Miu officially trades in women’s clothes, its most recent surge in popularity is due, more specifically, to the men who are now seeking, buying and wearing it.
“I wear Prada, but Miu Miu feels a bit more fun,” said Corey Stokes, 33, a stylist and a senior vice president at Essence Ventures. Over the past few years, Mr. Stokes has accumulated around 15 items from the brand, including a bejeweled track jacket, a gray knit twin set, two pairs of jeans, a leather suit and boat shoes. “It felt a little more untapped, and I like being in something that no one is wearing,” he said.
The brand piqued Jake Weber’s interest after he watched a video of its spring 2024 catwalk presentation online. Mr. Weber, a New York lawyer, first bought a blue checked button-up shirt featured prominently in the collection, and then a pair of board shorts, pants with suede side detailing, polos, sweaters and T-shirts. He was invited to a trunk show to preview items from the fall collection and is mulling over some outerwear: fleeces, a peacoat and a faux fur jacket that the model Gigi Hadid wore on the runway. “There’s something really pure and light and fun about Miu Miu,” he said.
“One thing I love is you see the collections, and, yes, it’s traditionally a women’s brand, but you walk into the store and it’s like, anything goes,” Mr. Weber said. “It can be for anyone, any age, any gender. I mean, there’s price constraints, obviously.”
More “Miu Men” are popping up by the day: Odell Beckham Jr., the Miami Dolphins wide receiver; the musicians ASAP Rocky, Offset and Omar Apollo; the comedian John Cleese, who was spotted wearing a Miu Miu baseball cap; and Kim Jones, the British designer in charge of Fendi women’s wear and Dior men’s wear, who often wears its clothes, including during his runway bows. At its store in SoHo in New York, an associate said that once athletes and rappers wore it, more men began to drop by, some unaware that the brand didn’t officially make men’s wear.