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The Genocidal War on Tigray
Where We Are and How We Got Here
“I’m from Tigray, a small region between Ethiopia and Eritrea.” Since November 4, 2020, this or a similar response has been how many Tigrayans answer the question, “Where are you from?”
On November 4, 2020, while much of the world focused on the U.S. election, the Ethiopian government, along with its allies, surrounded and invaded Tigray. They described this as a “law enforcement operation,” but it was, in reality, an operation with the intent to commit genocide. Collaborating with Eritrean and Amhara regional forces (from south of Tigray), the Ethiopian government used drones and weapons supplied by China, Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates to carry out a relentless assault. This genocide, rooted in Ethiopia’s long history of oppression, continues silently today as the international community, having resumed normalized relations with Ethiopia, pays no heed to justice and accountability.
The Tigray Genocide marks yet another violent but unprecedented chapter in the history of Ethiopia, an empire-state built on the longstanding subjugation of its diverse peoples, nations, and nationalities. Ethiopia is home to over 90 ethnic groups, many of whom were forcefully integrated into the Ethiopian state during the nation-building efforts that started with Emperor Menelik II in 1889. As a minority group committed to self-determination, Tigrayans have a history of resisting oppression. As a result, Tigrayans have been consistently targeted by Ethiopia’s authoritarian leaders, from Emperor Haile Selassie in the 1930s to the current administration under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Haile Selassie maintained control over Ethiopia’s diverse ethnic groups with the support of foreign allies, enforcing a uniform Ethiopian identity across the empire. In response to an uprising in Tigray, known as the “First Woyane,” Haile Selassie, with the assistance of the British Royal Air Force, launched an aerial bombing campaign to suppress Tigrayan resistance.
After Haile Selassie was overthrown in 1974, a self-proclaimed socialist regime, known as the Derg and mainly composed of military and police officials, seized power through extreme violence. The brutality of the Derg’s state-sponsored violence fueled widespread opposition across Ethiopia. For Tigrayans, the movement against the Derg regime is known as the “Second Woyane.” Thousands of Tigrayans joined the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to engage in armed resistance, prompting the Derg to respond with bombings and weaponized famine in Tigray. The war against the Derg, one of Africa’s most protracted conflicts, lasted from 1974 to 1991. While various groups contributed, the TPLF and Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) led the successful military campaign, resulting in Eritrea’s independence and establishing a new Ethiopian government. The TPLF transitioned into a political party, and under its leadership, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) was established. A new constitution was promulgated in 1995, aiming to ensure representation for all of Ethiopia’s nationalities.
The shortcomings of the TPLF-led EPRDF, including allegations of human rights abuses, led to the appointment of Abiy Ahmed as Ethiopia’s interim Prime Minister in 2018. In 2020, he postponed scheduled elections, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as justification, centralized power, and formed the Prosperity Party. By inciting widespread hate speech against Tigray, the Ethiopian government and its allies launched a devastating war on Tigray, collectively punishing Tigrayans and ultimately committing acts of genocide.
As domestic and international forces launched a combined land and air offensive in Tigray, a government-imposed telecommunications blackout, which lasted a record 2 years, concealed countless atrocity crimes. These included extrajudicial killings, massacres, weaponized starvation, systematic and widespread conflict-related sexual violence, siege tactics, and campaigns of ethnic cleansing. The invaders aimed not only for immediate destruction but also deliberately targeted Tigray’s healthcare and education systems and agricultural sector to undermine the region for generations. This genocidal war triggered a mass displacement crisis, with over two million people displaced within Tigray and more than 70,000 refugees fleeing to Sudan.
Over 90% of Tigray’s health facilities were rendered non-functional, 99% of ambulances were looted, and 74.9% of schools were damaged. Crops and farming equipment were destroyed or looted, while farmers were barred from cultivating their land. Sexual violence was systematically used as a tool of ethnic cleansing and genocide with the intent to destroy women’s reproductive potential and decimate Tigray’s social fabric. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been subjected to brutal and life-altering assaults, many involving multiple perpetrators. A recent study found that 43% of women surveyed were survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Weaponized starvation compounded these atrocities, as humanitarian aid was heavily restricted by the Ethiopian government, exacerbating the food crisis caused by widespread agricultural destruction. Tigray’s minority groups, including the Irob and Kunama, have borne some of the heaviest consequences of these crimes and continue to face an existential threat.
In late June 2021, Ethiopian and Eritrean troops and Amhara regional forces suffered significant losses against the Tigray Defense Force (TDF), a resistance movement composed of Tigrayans from all walks of life. Following these defeats, the Ethiopian government shifted its strategy from active warfare to imposing a 360-degree siege, blocking all humanitarian aid. An already food-insecure Tigray was plunged into famine without a functional health system. As a result of the genocidal war and this suffocating siege, at least 600,000, and potentially up to one million, Tigrayans have been killed by the Ethiopian government and its allies.
In parallel to the violence in Tigray, Tigrayans across Ethiopia faced persecution. Detention centers, best described as concentration camps, were set up to imprison Tigrayans solely based on their ethnic origin. Among those detained, tortured, and killed were UN peacekeepers, military personnel, and everyday hardworking Tigrayans. Conditions in these camps were dire, with poor sanitation, withheld medical care, and brutal treatment.
Throughout the genocidal war, the Ethiopian government and its allies sought to destroy all traces of Tigray’s existence, including its cultural heritage. It did so as much of the Ethiopian populace celebrated Tigray’s devastation. Although the war officially ended with a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) signed in November 2022 between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government, much of the agreement remains unimplemented, and the silent genocide continues.
Up to 40% of Tigray remains occupied, with Eritrean forces controlling areas in the north and Amhara regional forces occupying Western and parts of Northwestern Tigray. Human rights abuses, including conflict-related sexual violence, kidnappings, and ethnic cleansing campaigns, persist. In occupied areas like the Irob and Gulomakeda districts in northeastern Tigray, residents face long, dangerous journeys to the nearest hospital, constantly threatened by occupying forces. Among those making these journeys are survivors of sexual violence at the hands of Eritrean troops.
Despite ongoing atrocity crimes, the only international independent investigatory mechanism, the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE), established by the UN Human Rights Council in December 2021, was shut down in October 2023. The international community has instead endorsed Ethiopia’s domestic transitional justice framework. But how can justice be served when those responsible for the crimes control the process? To the international community, it seems the case of Tigray is closed.
In liberated areas under Tigray’s Interim Regional Administration, conditions remain dire. Although the CoHA was meant to provide relief, the humanitarian crisis persists. From May to December 2023, the World Food Programme and USAID suspended operations in Ethiopia due to large-scale theft. This decision proved devastating for the millions of Tigrayans who were aid-dependent. Today, aid distribution continues to fall short of targets. The food crisis has only deepened due to agricultural destruction and drought, leaving many areas on the brink of famine. 83% of Tigrayans are food insecure. Tigray’s health system remains shattered, unable to meet overwhelming needs. Over one million internally displaced people in Tigray, many of whom have been displaced multiple times and live in makeshift shelters, are especially vulnerable, unable to return home due to ongoing occupation. But famine is not the only crisis facing Tigrayans. The impact of the war and genocide has dismantled Tigray’s social fabric. Violence against women and girls has become widespread, with no accountability for perpetrators. Lawlessness prevails, driving an exodus of Tigrayan youth as unemployment and economic collapse take hold. In a recent survey, 86% of Tigrayan youth expressed no hope for their future due to the lack of economic opportunities and security in Tigray. This is the legacy of the deadliest war of the 21st century. Amid these intersecting crises, Tigray’s leadership has regrettably failed to prioritize the needs of its people.
Yet we, as a community, have not given up. We continue to fight for the people of Tigray, who bear the trauma of genocide and struggle daily for survival. You can help advocate for them, too. Together, we can make a difference. Contact your government representatives to emphasize the need for justice and accountability in Tigray and stress that now is not the time to normalize relations with Ethiopia. Raise awareness in your community and stay informed. Support fundraising efforts by grassroots organizations. Every contribution counts.
So, when someone asks, “Where is Tigray?” you can answer, “Tigrayans would say it’s a region between Ethiopia and Eritrea—let me tell you why.”
Visit omnatigray.org to learn more about the Tigray Genocide and donate to the Health Professionals Network for Tigray (hpn4tigray. org) and Tigray Disaster Relief Fund (tdrfund.org) to contribute to addressing Tigray’s immense needs. Stay up to date by following @omnatigray, @hpn4tigray, @tdrfund across social media.
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{
"article":
{
"title" : "The Genocidal War on Tigray: Where We Are and How We Got Here",
"author" : "Sarah Cassidy-Seyoum",
"category" : "essays",
"url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/genocidal-war-tigray",
"date" : "2024-11-01 13:09:00 -0400",
"img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/tigray-map.jpg",
"excerpt" : "“I’m from Tigray, a small region between Ethiopia and Eritrea.” Since November 4, 2020, this or a similar response has been how many Tigrayans answer the question, “Where are you from?”",
"content" : "“I’m from Tigray, a small region between Ethiopia and Eritrea.” Since November 4, 2020, this or a similar response has been how many Tigrayans answer the question, “Where are you from?”On November 4, 2020, while much of the world focused on the U.S. election, the Ethiopian government, along with its allies, surrounded and invaded Tigray. They described this as a “law enforcement operation,” but it was, in reality, an operation with the intent to commit genocide. Collaborating with Eritrean and Amhara regional forces (from south of Tigray), the Ethiopian government used drones and weapons supplied by China, Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates to carry out a relentless assault. This genocide, rooted in Ethiopia’s long history of oppression, continues silently today as the international community, having resumed normalized relations with Ethiopia, pays no heed to justice and accountability.The Tigray Genocide marks yet another violent but unprecedented chapter in the history of Ethiopia, an empire-state built on the longstanding subjugation of its diverse peoples, nations, and nationalities. Ethiopia is home to over 90 ethnic groups, many of whom were forcefully integrated into the Ethiopian state during the nation-building efforts that started with Emperor Menelik II in 1889. As a minority group committed to self-determination, Tigrayans have a history of resisting oppression. As a result, Tigrayans have been consistently targeted by Ethiopia’s authoritarian leaders, from Emperor Haile Selassie in the 1930s to the current administration under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.Haile Selassie maintained control over Ethiopia’s diverse ethnic groups with the support of foreign allies, enforcing a uniform Ethiopian identity across the empire. In response to an uprising in Tigray, known as the “First Woyane,” Haile Selassie, with the assistance of the British Royal Air Force, launched an aerial bombing campaign to suppress Tigrayan resistance.After Haile Selassie was overthrown in 1974, a self-proclaimed socialist regime, known as the Derg and mainly composed of military and police officials, seized power through extreme violence. The brutality of the Derg’s state-sponsored violence fueled widespread opposition across Ethiopia. For Tigrayans, the movement against the Derg regime is known as the “Second Woyane.” Thousands of Tigrayans joined the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) to engage in armed resistance, prompting the Derg to respond with bombings and weaponized famine in Tigray. The war against the Derg, one of Africa’s most protracted conflicts, lasted from 1974 to 1991. While various groups contributed, the TPLF and Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) led the successful military campaign, resulting in Eritrea’s independence and establishing a new Ethiopian government. The TPLF transitioned into a political party, and under its leadership, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) was established. A new constitution was promulgated in 1995, aiming to ensure representation for all of Ethiopia’s nationalities.The shortcomings of the TPLF-led EPRDF, including allegations of human rights abuses, led to the appointment of Abiy Ahmed as Ethiopia’s interim Prime Minister in 2018. In 2020, he postponed scheduled elections, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as justification, centralized power, and formed the Prosperity Party. By inciting widespread hate speech against Tigray, the Ethiopian government and its allies launched a devastating war on Tigray, collectively punishing Tigrayans and ultimately committing acts of genocide.As domestic and international forces launched a combined land and air offensive in Tigray, a government-imposed telecommunications blackout, which lasted a record 2 years, concealed countless atrocity crimes. These included extrajudicial killings, massacres, weaponized starvation, systematic and widespread conflict-related sexual violence, siege tactics, and campaigns of ethnic cleansing. The invaders aimed not only for immediate destruction but also deliberately targeted Tigray’s healthcare and education systems and agricultural sector to undermine the region for generations. This genocidal war triggered a mass displacement crisis, with over two million people displaced within Tigray and more than 70,000 refugees fleeing to Sudan.Over 90% of Tigray’s health facilities were rendered non-functional, 99% of ambulances were looted, and 74.9% of schools were damaged. Crops and farming equipment were destroyed or looted, while farmers were barred from cultivating their land. Sexual violence was systematically used as a tool of ethnic cleansing and genocide with the intent to destroy women’s reproductive potential and decimate Tigray’s social fabric. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been subjected to brutal and life-altering assaults, many involving multiple perpetrators. A recent study found that 43% of women surveyed were survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Weaponized starvation compounded these atrocities, as humanitarian aid was heavily restricted by the Ethiopian government, exacerbating the food crisis caused by widespread agricultural destruction. Tigray’s minority groups, including the Irob and Kunama, have borne some of the heaviest consequences of these crimes and continue to face an existential threat.In late June 2021, Ethiopian and Eritrean troops and Amhara regional forces suffered significant losses against the Tigray Defense Force (TDF), a resistance movement composed of Tigrayans from all walks of life. Following these defeats, the Ethiopian government shifted its strategy from active warfare to imposing a 360-degree siege, blocking all humanitarian aid. An already food-insecure Tigray was plunged into famine without a functional health system. As a result of the genocidal war and this suffocating siege, at least 600,000, and potentially up to one million, Tigrayans have been killed by the Ethiopian government and its allies.In parallel to the violence in Tigray, Tigrayans across Ethiopia faced persecution. Detention centers, best described as concentration camps, were set up to imprison Tigrayans solely based on their ethnic origin. Among those detained, tortured, and killed were UN peacekeepers, military personnel, and everyday hardworking Tigrayans. Conditions in these camps were dire, with poor sanitation, withheld medical care, and brutal treatment.Throughout the genocidal war, the Ethiopian government and its allies sought to destroy all traces of Tigray’s existence, including its cultural heritage. It did so as much of the Ethiopian populace celebrated Tigray’s devastation. Although the war officially ended with a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) signed in November 2022 between the TPLF and the Ethiopian government, much of the agreement remains unimplemented, and the silent genocide continues.Up to 40% of Tigray remains occupied, with Eritrean forces controlling areas in the north and Amhara regional forces occupying Western and parts of Northwestern Tigray. Human rights abuses, including conflict-related sexual violence, kidnappings, and ethnic cleansing campaigns, persist. In occupied areas like the Irob and Gulomakeda districts in northeastern Tigray, residents face long, dangerous journeys to the nearest hospital, constantly threatened by occupying forces. Among those making these journeys are survivors of sexual violence at the hands of Eritrean troops.Despite ongoing atrocity crimes, the only international independent investigatory mechanism, the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (ICHREE), established by the UN Human Rights Council in December 2021, was shut down in October 2023. The international community has instead endorsed Ethiopia’s domestic transitional justice framework. But how can justice be served when those responsible for the crimes control the process? To the international community, it seems the case of Tigray is closed.In liberated areas under Tigray’s Interim Regional Administration, conditions remain dire. Although the CoHA was meant to provide relief, the humanitarian crisis persists. From May to December 2023, the World Food Programme and USAID suspended operations in Ethiopia due to large-scale theft. This decision proved devastating for the millions of Tigrayans who were aid-dependent. Today, aid distribution continues to fall short of targets. The food crisis has only deepened due to agricultural destruction and drought, leaving many areas on the brink of famine. 83% of Tigrayans are food insecure. Tigray’s health system remains shattered, unable to meet overwhelming needs. Over one million internally displaced people in Tigray, many of whom have been displaced multiple times and live in makeshift shelters, are especially vulnerable, unable to return home due to ongoing occupation. But famine is not the only crisis facing Tigrayans. The impact of the war and genocide has dismantled Tigray’s social fabric. Violence against women and girls has become widespread, with no accountability for perpetrators. Lawlessness prevails, driving an exodus of Tigrayan youth as unemployment and economic collapse take hold. In a recent survey, 86% of Tigrayan youth expressed no hope for their future due to the lack of economic opportunities and security in Tigray. This is the legacy of the deadliest war of the 21st century. Amid these intersecting crises, Tigray’s leadership has regrettably failed to prioritize the needs of its people.Yet we, as a community, have not given up. We continue to fight for the people of Tigray, who bear the trauma of genocide and struggle daily for survival. You can help advocate for them, too. Together, we can make a difference. Contact your government representatives to emphasize the need for justice and accountability in Tigray and stress that now is not the time to normalize relations with Ethiopia. Raise awareness in your community and stay informed. Support fundraising efforts by grassroots organizations. Every contribution counts.So, when someone asks, “Where is Tigray?” you can answer, “Tigrayans would say it’s a region between Ethiopia and Eritrea—let me tell you why.”Visit omnatigray.org to learn more about the Tigray Genocide and donate to the Health Professionals Network for Tigray (hpn4tigray. org) and Tigray Disaster Relief Fund (tdrfund.org) to contribute to addressing Tigray’s immense needs. Stay up to date by following @omnatigray, @hpn4tigray, @tdrfund across social media."
}
,
"relatedposts": [
{
"title" : "Black Liberation Views on Palestine",
"author" : "EIP Editors",
"category" : "essays",
"url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/black-liberation-on-palestine",
"date" : "2025-10-17 09:01:00 -0400",
"img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/mandela-keffiyeh.jpg",
"excerpt" : "",
"content" : "In understanding global politics, it is important to look at Black liberation struggles as one important source of moral perspective. So, when looking at Palestine, we look to Black leaders to see how they perceived the Palestinian struggle in relation to theirs, from the 1960’s to today.Why must we understand where the injustice lies? Because, as Desmond Tutu famously said, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”{% for person in site.data.quotes-black-liberation-palestine %}{{ person.name }}{% for quote in person.quotes %}“{{ quote.text }}”{% if quote.source %}— {{ quote.source }}{% endif %}{% endfor %}{% endfor %}"
}
,
{
"title" : "First Anniversary Celebration of EIP",
"author" : "EIP Editors",
"category" : "events",
"url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/1st-anniversary-of-eip",
"date" : "2025-10-14 18:01:00 -0400",
"img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/WSA_EIP_Launch_Cover.jpg",
"excerpt" : "Celebrating One Year of Independent Publishing",
"content" : "Celebrating One Year of Independent PublishingJoin Everything is Political on November 21st for the launch of our End-of-Year Special Edition Magazine.This members-only evening will feature a benefit dinner, cocktails, and live performances in celebration of a year of independent media, critical voices, and collective resistance.The EventNovember 21, 2025, 7-11pmLower Manhattan, New YorkLaunching our End-of-Year Special Edition MagazineSpecial appearances and performancesFood & Drink includedTickets are extremely limited, reserve yours now!Become an annual print member: get x back issues of EIP, receive the End-of-Year Special Edition Magazine, and come to the Anniversary Celebration.$470Already a member? Sign in to get your special offer. Buy Ticket $150 Just $50 ! and get the End-of-Year Special Edition Magazine Buy ticket $150 and get the End-of-Year Special Edition Magazine "
}
,
{
"title" : "Miu Miu Transforms the Apron From Trad Wife to Boss Lady: The sexiest thing in Paris was a work garment",
"author" : "Khaoula Ghanem",
"category" : "",
"url" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/readings/miu-miu-transforms-the-apron-from-trad-wife-to-boss-lady",
"date" : "2025-10-14 13:05:00 -0400",
"img" : "https://everythingispolitical.com/uploads/Cover_EIP_MiuMiu_Apron.jpg",
"excerpt" : "Miuccia Prada has a habit of taking the least “fashion” thing in the room and making it the argument. For Spring 2026 at Miu Miu, the argument is the apron; staged not as a coy retro flourish but as a total system. The show’s mise-en-scène read like a canteen or factory floor with melamine-like tables, rationalist severity, a whiff of cleaning fluid. In other words, a runway designed to force a conversation about labor before any sparkle could distract us.",
"content" : "Miuccia Prada has a habit of taking the least “fashion” thing in the room and making it the argument. For Spring 2026 at Miu Miu, the argument is the apron; staged not as a coy retro flourish but as a total system. The show’s mise-en-scène read like a canteen or factory floor with melamine-like tables, rationalist severity, a whiff of cleaning fluid. In other words, a runway designed to force a conversation about labor before any sparkle could distract us.From the opening look—German actress Sandra Hüller in a utilitarian deep-blue apron layered over a barn jacket and neat blue shirting—the thesis was loud: the “cover” becomes the thing itself. As silhouettes marched on, aprons multiplied and mutated—industrial drill cotton with front pockets, raw canvas, taffeta and cloqué silk, lace-edged versions that flirted with lingerie, even black leather and crystal-studded incarnations that reframed function as ornament. What the apron traditionally shields (clothes, bodies, “the good dress”) was inverted; the protection became the prized surface. Prada herself spelled it out: “The apron is my favorite piece of clothing… it symbolizes women, from factories through to serving to the home.”Miu Miu Spring 2026 Ready-to-Wear. SuppliedThis inversion matters historically. The apron’s earliest fashion-adjacent life was industrial. It served as a barrier against grease, heat, stain. It was a token of paid and unpaid care. Miu Miu tapped that lineage directly (canvas, work belts, D-ring hardware), then sliced it against domestic codes (florals, ruffles, crochet), and finally pushed into nightlife with bejeweled and leather bibs. The garment’s migration across materials made its social migrations visible. It is a kitchen apron, yes, but also one for labs, hospitals, and factories; the set and styling insisted on that plurality.What makes the apron such a loaded emblem is not just what it covers, but what it reveals about who has always been working. Before industrialization formalized labor into factory shifts and wages, women were already performing invisible labour, the kind that doesn’t exist on payrolls but sits at the foundation of every functioning society. They were cooking, cleaning, raising children, nursing the ill. These tasks were foundational to every economy and yet absent from every ledger. Even when women entered the industrial workforce, from textile plants to wartime assembly lines, their domestic responsibilities did not disappear, they doubled. In that context, the apron here is a quiet manifesto for the strength that goes unrecorded, unthanked, and yet keeps civilization running.The algorithmic rise of the “tradwife,” the influencer economy that packages domesticity as soft power, is the contemporary cultural shadow here. Miu Miu’s apron refuses that rehearsal. In fact, it’s intentionally awkward—oversized, undone, worn over bikinis or with sturdy shoes—so the viewer can’t flatten it into Pinterest-ready nostalgia. Critics noted the collection as a reclamation, a rebuttal to the flattening forces of the feed: the apron as a uniform for endurance rather than submission. The show notes framed it simply as “a consideration of the work of women,” a reminder that the invisible economies of effort—paid, unpaid, emotional—still structure daily life.If that sounds unusually explicit for a luxury runway, consider the designer. Prada trained as a mime at Milan’s Piccolo Teatro, earned a PhD in political science, joined the Italian Communist Party, and was active in the women’s rights movement in 1970s Milan. Those facts are not trivia; they are the grammar of her clothes. Decades of “ugly chic” were, essentially, a slow campaign against easy consumption and default beauty. In 2026, the apron becomes the newest dialect. An emblem drawn from leftist feminist history, recoded into a product that still has to sell. That tension—belief versus business—is the Miuccia paradox, and it’s precisely why these aprons read as statements, not trends.The runway narrative traced a journey from function to fetish. Early looks were squarely utilitarian—thick cottons, pocketed bibs—before migrating toward fragility and sparkle. Lace aprons laid transparently over swimmers; crystal-studded aprons slipped across cocktail territory; leather apron-dresses stiffened posture into armor. The sequencing proposed the same silhouette can encode labor, intimacy, and spectacle depending on fabrication. If most brands smuggle “workwear” in as set dressing, Miu Miu forced it onto the body as the central garment and an unmissable reminder that the feminine is often asked to be both shield and display at once.It’s instructive to read this collection against the house’s last mega-viral object: the micro-mini of Spring 2022, a pleated, raw-hem wafer that colonized timelines and magazine covers. That skirt’s thesis was exposure—hip bones and hemlines as post-lockdown spectacle, Y2K nostalgia framed as liberation-lite. The apron, ironically, covers. Where the micro-mini trafficked in the optics of freedom (and the speed of virality), the apron asks about the conditions that make freedom possible: who launders, who cooks, who cares? To move from “look at me” to “who is working here?” is a pivot from optics to ethics, without abandoning desire. (The aprons are, after all, deeply covetable.) In a platform economy that still rewards the shortest hemline with the biggest click-through, this is a sophisticated counter-program.Yet the designer is not romanticizing toil. There’s wit in the ruffles and perversity in the crystals; neither negate labor, they metabolize it. The most striking image is the apron treated as couture-adjacent. Traditionally, an apron protects the precious thing beneath; here, the apron is the precious thing. You could call that hypocrisy—luxurizing the uniform of workers. Or, strategy, insisting that the symbols of care and effort deserve visibility and investment.Of course, none of this exists in a vacuum. The “tradwife” script thrives because it is aesthetically legible and commercially scalable. It packages gender ideology as moodboard. Miu Miu counters with garments whose legibility flickers. The collection’s best looks ask viewers to reconcile tenderness with toughness, convenience with care, which is exactly the mental choreography demanded of women in every context from office to home to online.If you wanted a season-defining “It” item, you’ll still find it. The apron is poised to proliferate across fast-fashion and luxury alike. But the deeper success is structural: Miu Miu re-centered labor as an aesthetic category. That’s rarer than a viral skirt. It’s a reminder that clothes don’t merely decorate life, they describe and negotiate it. In making the apron the subject rather than the prop, Prada turned a garment of service into a platform for agency. It’s precisely the kind of cultural recursion you’d expect from a designer shaped by feminist politics, who never stopped treating fashion as an instrument of thought as much as style.The last image to hold onto is deceptively simple: a woman in an apron, neither fetishized nor infantilized, striding, hands free. Not a costume for nostalgia, not a meme for the feed, but a working uniform reframed, respected, and suddenly, undeniably beautiful. That is Miu Miu’s provocation for Spring 2026: the work behind the work, made visible at last."
}
]
}