Courtesy of @muglerofficial and @thierrymugler_archives
If you’ve been active on Instagram or keep up with pop culture, you’ve probably noticed the recent influx in headline-making ensembles by fabled couturier Manfred Thierry Mugler, one of fashion’s greatest showmen. But it’s not the house’s new collections, hot off the runway, which are now designed by Casey Cadwallader, that are generating all the buzz. Rather it is the archival pieces by the retired couturier that have recently infiltrated every corner of social media, the most esteemed runways, even spawning Fashion Nova knock-offs, and that were the subject of an exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts earlier this year.
Having left his eponymous brand in 2003 and rebranding himself as simply ‘Manfred’ to distance himself from the hoop synonymous with ‘Mugler’, the ballet dancer-turned-fashion icon has since taken up bodybuilding, directing at a music-hall, costume design (most recently designing the ensembles for The Wyld at Berlin’s Friedrichstadt-Palast) and still retains a leading role as the perfumer of the wildly popular Mugler fragrances. Although the man himself has long since stepped down from the creative direction of the brand in favour of a more hermetic existence, the house of Mugler is undoubtedly having a renaissance.
Thierry Mugler’s designs and runway spectacles—which sometimes ran over an hour in length—have always bordered on costume-y, stemming from his background as a classically trained dancer. His designs celebrated women by casting them as otherworldly glamazons oozing sex appeal (even whilst garbed as a feathered creature.) The Mugler woman was a dangerous seductress, a femme fatale straight out of the future, and this translated to his themed runways that models sashayed down with attitude. Starting his label in the ‘70s and gaining traction in the ‘80s and ‘90s, this was a time when many women were reinventing themselves in roles that were previously reserved for men. This metamorphosis and celebration of the divine feminine was evident, even when the models were restricted in chrome cyborg-esque corsets and encased in dresses made from rubber tires. The silhouettes of his work were distinctively ‘Mugler’ with exaggerated shoulders, bold cut outs, and body-moulded corsetry that bordered on scandalous.
His tenure at the legendary house also overlapped with the supermodel era. Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Carmen Dell Orefice all donned his creations. And although it is now not uncommon to have prominent drag queens like Violet Chachki and Detox seated front row, walking shows or starring in campaigns, Mugler was an early adopter. His supermodels and celebrity guests brushed shoulders with drag queens, porn stars, transgender models and people of colour. He famously directed and designed the costumes for George Michael’s Too Funky music video, starring an all-star cast of supermodels and featuring the now legendary motorcycle corset. While many drag queens have long cited Mugler as an inspiration, it seems his legacy is also inspiring a new generation of icons.
Since Thierry Mugler’s departure from his eponymous brand, several celebrities have shown their appreciation for the master couturier. Beyonce dug into his archives for her I Am… world tour in 2009 after seeing the motorcycle corset at an exhibition, and Lady Gaga has worn his original creations in several music videos and public appearances as well as walking the runway for Nicola Formichetti’s 2011 debut as creative director of the brand—the first revival of the brand since its founder left in 2002. More recently, Thierry Mugler opened up his coveted archives, to the shock of many, for Cardi B, who revived his 1995 Birth of Venus gown for the Grammys earlier this year, spawning yet another “break the internet” moment.
It’s no surprise then that Kim Kardashian has also hopped on the Mugler bandwagon. Rencently, Kardashian has commissioned custom pieces from emerging brands such as Berlin-based Ottolinger, as well as favouring archival pieces by Azzedine Alaïa, Versace, and Jean Paul Gaultier, and of course, Mugler. After Kardashian attended the opening of the Montreal exhibition, wearing his designs, Mugler made an exception to come out of retirement to officially design under the house of Mugler, not one, but two looks for Kardashian’s appearance at the Met Gala, catapulting the designer front and centre at the biggest fashion event of the year—once again making him a household name. This month, Kardashian brought together old and new in the September issue of Vogue Arabia by wearing both Casey Cadwallader’s new designs as well as archival pieces by Mugler himself.
Courtesy of @manfredthierrymugler
Thierry Mugler’s shoes are tremendous ones to fill. Since Mugler’s 2011 revival, the brand has had three creative directors attempting to shoulder the weight of that legacy, starting with Nicola Formichetti’s stint at the house, followed David Koma, and now succeeded by Cadwaller. While Formichetti (largely through his close friendship with and work as Lady Gaga’s stylist) and Koma were able to generate some buzz, the infectious energy of Thierry Mugler had largely fizzled out. This may very well change under the reins of Cadwallader.
His debut collection for the house of Mugler in 2018 embraced many of the brand’s signatures: the dramatic shoulders, structured bodices and corseted waists, but reimagined for a contemporary woman. While Thierry Mugler’s runways and garments transported women into a glamourous otherworld, Cadwallader’s interpretation is a lot more accessible, albeit less dramatic. Since his first collection, he has established himself as a competent and talented steward for the brand, embracing many of the references from the original, but not taking them too literally. With such a powerful legacy to draw inspiration from, Cadwallader has also made it clear that he is his own designer: “I have so much respect for [Thierry Mugler], but it’s really important that I don’t try to be him. I rely on the spirit of his work, but I don’t want to literally copy him,” he said in an interview with L’Officie
His latest offering for Mugler came this Wednesday at Paris Fashion Week—his most Mugler-ified collection to date. Somehow Cadwallader managed to serve just enough of the brand’s original DNA, while still keeping it his own. Opening with Bella Hadid in a net bodysuit corset, a dramatic-shouldered, cropped blazer and sheer stockings, she exemplified the modern Mugler woman. And with Hadid representing the supermodels, the rest of the casting was thoughtful and diverse in representation..Cadwallader has added many of his own elements to the brand since taking over, but a noticeable divergence in this show was the inclusion of two chest baring male models in black and white trousers and gloves that wrapped across their back and chest. And while Mugler’s decades long adulation of the feminine has been laudable, as more and more designers embrace gender fluidity and explore femininity in menswear, perhaps it’s time to introduce the ‘Mugler man’ to the brand. While the theatrical aspect may be missing, the clothes bring the brand into line with the 21st century, proving Cadwallader as a worthy custodian of the fashion’s most fantastical house.