Miu Miu brings the fashion girls to Covent Garden

Who’s got the pull to bring Covent Garden’s outdoor piazza to a standstill? Miu Miu does.

Last weekend, the legendary Italian brand launched a brand new two-day pop-up, Summer Reads, in the heart of central London. Dedicated to must-read books and got-to-buy looks, for the occasion, a small van with Miu Miu’s immediately recognisable typeface slapped across the front pulled up to the central London square.

It was enough to stop a group of university students on their way to lunch, shoppers on a power walk to their favourite stores and women whose partners were unlucky enough to be caught in the crosshairs of it all. We overheard one telling her boyfriend: ​“It’s a Miu Miu truck – we have to stop!” Fair enough.

A queue snaking up and down the cobbled pavement overtook the piazza, as fans of Mrs. Prada turned up in droves to receive a free copy of either Forbidden Notebook by Alba De Céspedes or Woman by Sibilla Aleramo, and an ice lolly branded in super sweet Miu Miu packaging. Summer Reads, the Covent Garden edition, coincided with events in New York, Tokyo, Milan and Paris, too – prepare for a long, hot, literary summer courtesy of Miu Miu.

Just weeks prior, the brand hosted a summer club in Cannes, where the likes of Cara Delevingne and FACE cover star Little Simz soaked up the goings-on at the prestigious film festival. Elsewhere, in April, Miu Miu hosted its inaugural literary club in Milan, Writing Life, curated by Olga Campofreda.

But back to Covent Garden, where stylish guests told THE FACE about the books they’ll be reading poolside this summer, their dream book club (and blunt rotation) attendees, and what a book about their lives might entail…

Actor, model and artist

Who would you invite to your book club?

“My book club would have some really batshit people. Definitely Lana – but this is my dream blunt rotation/​book club. I’d have Leo Tolstoy in there because Anna Karenina is my favourite book. Jane Fonda, for sure – I love her. What a powerful woman.”

Student

If you wrote a novel, what would it be about?

“I think it would be a love story. It would be about the three great loves: first love, toxic love and great love.”

Musician

What was the first book that made a lasting impact on your life?

“Essays In Love by Alain de Botton. To this day, I love that book. My favourite genre of books to read is romance with a philosophical/​essayist angle. Essays In Love is exactly that.”

Filmmaker, creative director and photographer

Who would you invite to your book club?

“Jane Campion – I love her – and Terrence Malick. Anyone visual and cinematic.”

DJ and influencer

What’s the last book you read?

“I actually re-read my favourite book in the world, Unbearable Lightness Of Being by Milan Kundera, a Czech writer. It has a lot of philosophy and sociology, and also a history of Europe. I’m from Poland, so I love anything to do with Eastern and Central Europe, and it’s set in Prague.

What would it say on the blurb of your memoir?

“Just a girl, living her life, all across the world.”

Editorial Intern at Tank Magazine

Which author inspires you?

“Ottessa Moshfegh, the author of My Year of Rest and Relaxation. I’m loving her at the moment and they’re turning the book into a film, which I’m obsessed [about] because Rachel Sennott is going to be in it. I’m excited for that!”

Musician

Who is your favourite author?

“[Honoré de] Balzac. He’s a French author who wrote about the social context in Paris. I’d also recommend Albert Camus. I like poetry – I love lots of dead poets from the 19^th century.”

Gaming product manager

What made you want to come down to Miu Miu Summer Reads?

“I love feminist books and Miu Miu, and I saw it was happening, plus my workplace is 10 minutes away. Me and my friends are into the same type of books and we have a book swap programme at work.”

Stylist and model

What book are you taking on your summer hols?

“A Woman by Sibilla Aleramo.”

Works in fashion

What was the last book you read?

“It’s a book by a Chinese author called Yi Shu and it’s called The Story of Rose. Liu Yifei, who was in the Mulan live-action film, stars in the TV series about the book.”

Model and writer

Who would you invite to your book club?

“Noam Chomsky, my aunt, director Yorgos Lanthimos, Bella Hadid, Jeremy Corbyn and Coco Mocoe – she has a fab take on future cultural trends on TikTok.”

Senior Fashion Features Editor at THE FACE

What is your favourite book genre?

“I love a murder mystery book. Anything with a ​‘whodunit’ angle grips me every time. Dorothy Koomson has such a talent for this!”