What happens when the protagonists of a film keep living after the credits roll? At ‘Tales & Tellers’, Miu Miu turns characters from its Women’s Tales films into live performers, bringing more than a decade of stories into the exhibition space.
Presented at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre from June 5 to 7, 2026, the third edition of ‘Tales & Tellers’ was conceived by Goshka Macuga, convened by Elvira Dyangani Ose and envisioned by Miuccia Prada. The project draws on the 31 films created for Miu Miu Women’s Tales alongside seven artistic interventions developed for the brand’s runway shows between Spring/Summer 2022 and Spring/Summer 2025, creating a dialogue between fashion, cinema, performance and contemporary art.
Its most compelling idea lies in the treatment of the archive. ‘Tales & Tellers’ reactivates past works through performance, giving them a new presence in the present. Actors inhabit characters from the films and artistic interventions, moving through the exhibition and transforming fiction into physical encounters. Visitors experience stories as something unfolding around them.
Described by Miu Miu as custodians of these narratives, the performers create a fluid exchange between cinema, theatre and contemporary art. Characters once confined to the screen continue their stories in real space, extending the life of the films beyond their original format.
After debuting in Paris in 2024 and travelling to New York in 2025, the project arrives in Shanghai in collaboration with theatre and opera director Fabio Cherstich, with exhibition design by OMA/AMO. The historic Shanghai Exhibition Centre becomes part of the narrative itself, shaping how visitors move through the experience.
‘Tales & Tellers’ reflects Miu Miu’s growing role as a cultural producer. Fashion provides the starting point, while storytelling, performance and collective memory drive the experience. The result is a project where stories remain active, circulating between film, live performance and audience participation.
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