In March, Miu Miu officially launched its AW21 collection, alongside a brand new virtual fashion film. The film invited followers to join the ‘Miu Miu Mountain Club’, where models bravely voyaged through the Cortina D’Ampezzo mountains in the heart of the Dolomites Alps while (appropriately) sporting yeti boots, silky skirts, fur gloves, and crocheted scarves and snoods. Featuring a diverse cast of models, the film centred the collective strength and imagination of “women, different places, and different ideas”.

Now – in celebration of the collection – the Italian fashion brand has teamed up with Dazed to create a short film, titled Bold Echoes. Directed by London-based filmmaker Tash Tung and featuring poet and activist Kai Isaiah Jamal, the film examines women’s empowerment and bravery through the spoken word. Wearing a yellow crocheted look from the AW21 collection in an icy studio, Jamal recites a poem which nods to the next generation of spirited, expressive, and disruptive bravehearts.

Alongside the film’s intimate, sensory visuals, Jamal speaks: “Blessed are the girls, gyallies, and gyaldem. Blessed are the queens and kings with extra tings. Blessed are the new voices that sing femininity from a different part of their stomach, who run uphill steeper than their counterparts.”

“Blessed are the matriarchs that pray for us all in the dark. Blessed are the sparks of joy. Blessed are the boys. Blessed are the ‘why’ becoming ‘I’ cause who else owns one’s own sky?” they continue. “Blessed are the girls who trust their intuition and were made in their own vision.”

During their poem, Jamal’s look switches from bright, delicate crochets to a tan layered-up fur jumpsuit, beaded puffer jacket, and camel snood as they enter a darker setting. Closing the poem, they wear a pink rhinestone long-sleeve top. 

Between its contrasting looks and subversive visuals, the film showcases the AW21 collection through a new lens. Meanwhile, Jamal’s words celebrate the power of women’s voices across time – embodying the plurality of women and how our personal expressions create and hold space. Watch Bold Echoes below. 

Miu Miu’s SS22 show took place on October 5.