Femminilità in Italia

From the salonnières of the Enlightenment period to the suffragette movement in the late 1800s, for centuries women across Europe have engaged in the frequent exchange of radical, and oftentimes revolutionary, ideas on gender in the home and throughout society. This month, Miu Miu will continue the conversation with the launch of a literary club entitled Writing Life.

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During Salone del Mobile, Writing Life will take place at Milan’s Circolo Filologico, the city’s oldest cultural association. The public program will feature two of the most influential pieces of feminist literature—Alba de Céspedes’ 1952 Quaderno proibito (Forbidden Notebook) and Sibilla Aleramo’s 1906 Una donna (A Woman)—alongside panel discussions, readings, and entertainment by acclaimed writers, including Pulitzer prize-winner Jhumpa Lahiri and National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Xiaolu Guo. The event marks the Italian fashion brand’s latest commitment to the arts, following an array of cultural experiences including its ongoing film series titled Women’s Tale, which is currently in its 27th and collaborates with distinguished female filmmakers to create compelling and stylish short films.

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Curated by Italian writer and researcher Olga Campofreda, Miu Miu Literary Club will cover a range of pertinent topics spanning domestic life, professional ambitions, and female friendships. Aleramo’s and de Céspedes’ novels will be discussed in two respective conversations: “Creative Spaces, Creative Time,” moderated by writer and curator Lou Stoppard, and “Our Brilliant Sisters,” moderated by author, presenter, and journalist Zing Tsjeng. Writing Life builds on the larger trend of fashion brands venturing into the cultural sphere—the Gucci x The North Face Adventure film series, the YSL Beauty Hotel, as well as Prada Journal, a creative contest held in collaboration with the Italian publishing company Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editor.  The literary programming also aligns with the brand’s multifaceted vision of the Miu Miu woman, a free spirit who embodies female empowerment in all its complexities. By emphasizing the plight of womanhood throughout history, Miu Miu Literary Club amplifies the women of the past, the present, and future.