Fashion meets feminist literature at the Miu Miu Literary Club 2025

Under the umbrella theme of A Woman’s Education, the event addressed the complex territories of girlhood, friendship, love and desire through panel discussions.

Day one centered on The Power of Girlhood, examining de Beauvoir’s novella The Inseparables (2020)—a story that charts a young woman’s development through her experiences with female friendship. Fun fact: while the novel was completed 60 years ago, it was considered too daring to be published during the author’s lifetime. Moderated by writer Lou Stoppard, the panel that featured trailblazing female literary figures from today such as Lauren Elkin, Geetanjali Shree and Veronica Raimo, conversed on the topics related to youth, societal expectations and rebellion. 

The second day shifted focus to the notion of About Love, Sex and Desire, unpacking Enchi’s seminal work The Waiting Years (1957). The novel is considered one of Japan’s earliest explicit explorations of female sexuality that was later awarded The Noma Prize—the nation’s highest form of literary recognition. For the occasion, Miu Miu brought together more subversive female voices in modern literature from Naoise Dolan and Nicola Dinan to Sarah Manguso. Guided by spoken-word poet, model and activist Kai Isaiah Jamal, the group discussed how the meaning of sex and desire for women has changed through the years. 

Beyond the physical event, two episodes of the podcast Deep Read with Phoebe Lovatt were also recorded at the venue, ensuring that all of us can engage with and learn from Miu Miu’s patronage of feminist literary discourse.