For Miu Miu – and Miuccia Prada – fashion has always been about more than clothes. Whether it’s via a dynamic runway show, or through her ‘Women’s Tales’ project, which first launched in 2011, the Italian designer has long sought to put women’s stories at the forefront of her sartorial endeavours. And so, it was only fitting that the House partnered with Art Basel Paris to continue the conversation of womanhood in all its complexities.

Titled ‘Tales and Tellers’, the highly-anticipated exhibition was unveiled this week at Paris’ Palais d’Iena, as part of Art Basel's Public Program. Assembled by art curator Elvira Dyangani, and curated by Polish artist Goshka Macuga, the project brings together a series of films produced by Miu Miu – or ‘tales,’ if you will – each screened throughout the expansive space (which is also the site of Miu Miu runway shows). Then, alongside the screens is a cast of actors, directed by Fabio Cherstich, enlisted to re-enact the films in real-time. Combined, these dual modes of storytelling work to highlight the multiplicity of women's’ lives: their experiences, their histories, their tales.

Naturally, the exhibition also sought to facilitate discussion – primarily, via a series of talks held in the lead up to the show’s public unveiling. Miu Miu assembled panellists like Chloé Sevigny, Australian costume designer Catherine Martin, and Ava DuVernay, as well as directors of past 'Women’s Tales' and artists behind the creation of the video work, for conversations about their own lives, histories, adversities and aspirations. The conversations continued to flow with a dinner hosted at Parisienne restaurant Maxim, where guests including Thylane Blondeau, Amalie Gassman, and Cailee Spaeny gathered to celebrate the exhibition's opening. 

For those of us geographically inhibited from experiencing 'Tales and Tellers' first-hand, RUSSH was on the ground to revel in the project. Below, step inside Miu Miu's enlightening exhibition.

 

Tales and Tellers' is part of Art Basel’s Public Program, and is open to the public from October 16 to 20. Online registration is available at miumiu.com.