Models Kris Krystal, Ploy Chobsawang, Rachel Agbonze and more are styled by Lotta Volkova in the Miu Miu [IG] Prelude Collection 2016 campaign. Danish photographer Julie Greve [IG] shoots the campaign, confirming her self-descriptor as an artist whose work explores ideas of coming of age and female identity.

Greve’s work looks for and reveals complex emotion in her subjects — and we are looking at that deeply personal and challenging aspect of the lives of Miu Miu’s young women — no matter how affluent is their family heritage.

There’s a utilitarian vibe in the Prelude Collection, Miu Miu’s first release of the year, one that draws on work and outerwear, juxtaposing fashion with function — with a result Miu Miu calls ‘irreverent elegance’. There’s a practicality to this vision of lived-in luxury that sits well with the brand’s brainiac young women positioning.

The return of the Miu Miu Custom Studio allows personalization of sneakers with charms, along with all the other personalized bag charms.

Global Trends in Young Women’s Goals and Relationships

On the topic of Miu Miu’s brainiac young women, AOC spent time today getting out of the minds of America’s young women with questions about young women worldwide. No wonder they seem so serious in Miu Miu campaigns.

This issue has been on AOC’s mind after posting the recent Miu Miu Holiday 2025 Campaign.

The trend of young women deprioritizing, delaying, or opting out of relationships with men is a widespread phenomenon, particularly across ‘rich’ or developed countries

Data indicates a ‘great relationship recession’ is underway globally, with singlehood rising in 26 out of 30 surveyed developed nations.

East Asia [Japan, South Korea, China]: In Japan and South Korea, young women are increasingly prioritizing education, careers, and personal freedom over traditional marriage, which is often viewed as a restrictive, patriarchal structure. In China, women in both mega-cities and smaller, more traditional counties are struggling to find suitable partners who meet their standards, leading to a rise in singlehood.

Europe: Nordic countries [Sweden, Norway, Denmark] are notable for high rates of independent, single women, driven by high levels of gender equality and personal autonomy. In Spain, 52% of single women reported being happier alone than dealing with men.

UK and Canada: Similar to the US, these countries are seeing a rise in women delaying or skipping marriage to focus on career goals and personal growth.

Southern Africa: In countries like Botswana and Namibia, researchers have also observed women opting out of marriage — while still pursuing motherhood.

Common Global Drivers:

Economic Independence: As women gain access to education and financial stability, they are less dependent on men for security, allowing them to raise their standards for partners or choose to remain single.

‘Quiet-Quitting’ Relationships: Many women are resisting the ‘costs of caring’—the disproportionate emotional labor and support they are expected to provide to men.

Shifting Priorities: Young people in many countries are focusing on personal happiness, mental health, and friendships, placing marriage on the ‘backburner’.

High Standards/Broken Dating Scenes: The shift is partly due to women giving up on a ‘broken version of dating’ that does not provide enough value, say researchers who studied this trend across eight countries, including Mexico and Thailand.

It goes without saying that Anne has quite a stack of research reading on this critical for the future of humanity topic. It’s also very interesting to me, that in the Miu Miu Holiday Campaign, I posted the Prada Holiday video, which was dramatically different in tone from Miu Miu’s.