Naughty nerds, Emma Corrin and giant camellias close Paris collections

Fresh off their West cease race in Michael Grandage’s Orlando, Emma Corrin has conquered another stage: the catwalks of Paris.

The 27-year-aged actor closed the Miu Miu present, which also included Mia Goth, Lisa Rinna’s daughter Amelia Gray, and — in her runway debut — basketball player Dwayne Wade’s 15-year-aged daughter Zaya Wade.

So, a bona fide frigid kid cast then. But this season Miuccia Prada shifted away from the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it micro silhouettes that instantly became social media catnip and an unofficial uniform of international frigid girls. Instead, what she proposed was something geekier and more bookish: oval specs, prim diminutive cardigans, tweed overcoats and point-toe sling-backs.

But, this being the work of Mrs. Prada, that dorkiness was upended with an off-kilter sauciness. Pencil skirts were sheer (if not absent entirely), hair-mussed up as if the Miu Miu girls had been doing something in the library that wasn’t studying. Ahem. It was nerdy but naughty.

There was also a sense of mum-on-the-race haste to the collection. Bags jangled with keys, like she was dashing out of the house. The tights peeped up above the waistbands of skirts, knitwear tucked in. And see those missing trousers and bed hair again.

The collection’s perfect imperfection felt factual for now. An underlying message for anyone prone to looking for them: cute outfits are noteworthy, but that’s not enough. In short, there are other things to be thinking about, as well as ‘could I disappear out in knickers and a coat?’

The dialogue between the ‘real’ world and the fashion bubble is always fascinating, but on the final day of the autumn/winter 2023 present season, the former threatened to interrupt the latter. Many of the British press did not design the Miu Miu present due to violent strikes which saw Eurostars cancelled.

Most managed to design the first present of the day, however: Chanel. A giant camellia, the maison’s signature bloom, provided the centrepiece of the set (one was placed on each attendee’s seat as well).

By way of explanation, creative director Viriginie Viard said in the press notes: ‘The camellia is more than a theme, it’s an eternal code of the House. I find it reassuring and familiar, I like its softness and its strength’.

Reassuring and familiar Chanel codes were duly present: boucle, pearls, chain belts, a mostly monochrome palette. But these were charged with a youthful energy making it very much not-your-mama’s Chanel. Viard served up lace shorts, asymmetric coats and knits festooned with outsized applique camellias.

Also refreshing? Seeing a few mid-sized models on the catwalk. With the Karl Lagerfeld Met Gala and, later this year, the blockbuster Chanel exhibition at the V&A, this insouciant collection should assist secure a current generation of fans on board.