Personal distance Captured at MIU MIU FW21

Close is FW 2021 collection of visual studies on the theme of proximity, in which each photographer has created a series of visual statements on the unique and intimate relationship they share with their subject. It highlights the significant role that personal distance plays in an image-maker’s treatment and understanding of what and who they are photographing.

As one of those models in the show, Gigi Hadid enjoyed the greatest access and freedom of movement in the backstage environment that any photographer could possibly have. Her work documents the experience of preparing a Miu Miu collection for the catwalk in an unprecedentedly honest and thorough way.

Lila Moss is photographed at home by Nikolai von Bismarck, imbuing the images with an affinity only achievable within a familial context; the Polaroid format highlights the informal candour of the setting. Kate Moss offers a personal perspective on the Miu Miu collection, styling the looks with Katie Grand.

With a particular focus on accessories, Steve Mackey shot London model Kasper Kapica wearing the collection on both film and Polaroid on location in a local public park. The Polaroids have been given a hand-painted treatment by Patrick Waugh, the signature of his brushstrokes evident in the texture of the paint.

Backstage at the show where the collection was presented, Liz Collins captured the character of the models in her close-up portraits, taken in private moments as they prepared to set forth on the catwalk.

For digital media, Amber Pinkerton photographed young Londoners on the day they reemerged to engage with the physical social space after a period of withdrawal, while Douglas Irvine was given exclusive access to Miu Miu’s autumn/winter 2020 set, where he shot individual models dressed in the looks they wore for the show.

Finally, Anthony Turner, Luella Bartley, Silvia Prada and Chantal Stracey express their personal interpretations of both the mood and detail of the collection through distinctive hand-drawn illustrations and animations.

The result is a collective effort from a broad range of creatives working across various media. Their work has been assembled in collages using physical techniques of cut and paste – the touch of human hand at play in their production, proposing an intimacy that is all the more precious in a time of increased separation and isolation. 

Everyone participating in this project is already a part of Miu Miu’s extended family. The participants’ familiarity both with their subjects and with the broader world of Miu Miu gives Close a profoundly personal and proximate quality at a moment in history that has required us to reevaluate our understanding of personal distance.