6 Sharpest Pieces by Mugler
- Posted by: angeli.krohmal
Futuristic and progressive, innovative and a whole new take on what fashion is all about. Who is he, the famous creator of Angel and Alien? What's behind the sharp lines and cosmic themes of his incredible outfits? Let's get to know Thierry Mugler and his brand better.
The famous designer has recently passed away, but the world is sure that his legacy will delight fans for years to come. Extraterrestrial images that have been created by the brand for almost half a century do not leave the lips of fashion critics and fashionista.
Thierry Mugler was born in Strasbourg in 1945 and from childhood it was noted that he was drawn to the beautiful. Already at the age of 9 he began to draw, and by the time he was a teenager he was passionate about classical dance. He even managed to dance in the corps de ballet for a while. Just at that period, inspired by the spectacular outfits of actors and sets for productions he became interested in design. Initially it seemed to the young man that his path lay in the world of interior design, but fate turned out a little differently - and as we can judge today - for the better.
Mugler moves to Paris, where he becomes a stylist. In those days, fashion guidelines were not what a fashion designer was interested in. Thierry frankly did not understand the excessively closed and refined images of those times, although he recognized the greatness and sublime beauty of the creations of such fashion titans as Christian Dior and Cristobal Balenciaga. There is a logical explanation for this - the aforementioned couturiers were innovators who broke the old patterns of fashion and did not follow what was called "right". In many ways, this was also the case for Mugler.
Her first attempt to demonstrate her own vision of fashion was the Cafe de Paris collection. This first step has already become successful, as the author from the very beginning emphasized female sexual energy and luxury. Against the background of the then fashion trends to close, depersonalize, erase gender, his models full of femininity (but not yet so flamboyant and provocative) were a loud statement.
The beginning of the brand was laid in 1973, for which the young designer needed several years of painstaking labor and financial investments. Collections and new ideas were immediately successful, critics were delighted, as well as connoisseurs of fashion art. However, Mugler was ahead of time and progress in his ideas - the production of his designs was labor-intensive.
In 1978 the first boutique of the name brand was opened. The designer plunged headlong into his fantasies and realized the concept of exaggerated femininity and seductiveness mixed with futurism and fantasy accents - all this was fresh, new and had a magnetic effect on society. As the designer himself admitted, the two main sources of inspiration for him were the theater and the female body, which he sought not to hide, but on the contrary - to emphasize all available ways, even if they went against public morality.
Thierry Mugler's creations are well-known for being somewhat theatrical and austere at the same time, which has served to make his pieces very popular. The great designer passed away in 2022, but his fashion brand is inspired by him for years to come and continues to wow the catwalks with great shapes, silhouettes and character. Let's choose the most extravagant pieces of clothing from Mugler to add to our closets.
Thierry's natural flair did not allow him to retreat into cheap vulgarity in his works - every detail in the outfit was well thought out and did not break out of the general storytelling of the item (even if it was a bare breast). He was fascinated by dramatic, pompous images, he liked to visualize extremes - super-hard corsets, extremely high cuts, a lot of transparent fabrics. In his designs, he looked to different historical eras - from Antiquity to the swinging 60s, and even some biblical motifs.
His passion for the theater is evident in everything Mugler touched and created. He was one of those who would never settle for less, which is why his collection demonstrations were particularly noteworthy. Instead of simply walking regally down the catwalk, the models were tasked with creating a real show, a performance. They flew under the ceiling, mime, posed not according to the classical canons of models of that time. The staging was handled personally by Thierry with his choreographic education and practical experience. Moreover, the designer designed his fashion shows, as they call it nowadays, "on a turnkey basis": lighting, interior design, contact with the audience - everything was important to him.
It is worth noting that in the pursuit of creative fulfillment, Mugler did not forget about the financial one - his shows were among the first to which you could buy a ticket. Critics did not recognize this, but the designer clearly realized that society wants to be involved in fashion, even if it can not afford to buy something haute couture.
In the early 90's the brand was on a new stage - the creation of a haute couture collection delighted the designer, because he was doing an even more ambitious job. At that time, the brand had already become iconic and respected - it was chosen not only by fashionistas, but also by the first persons of the country. That is why the designer wanted to create something that would be remembered forever and something that could be worn by a variety of people.
In 1992, a legendary event takes place - the brand created its first perfume. "Angel" was a new perfumery discovery, which had not been since Chanel n 5, before Mugler no one made dessert compositions. This perfume was a revelation for the designer - a dedication to his mother, who baked incredibly delicious pastries and whose aroma he adored. At the same time, the extremely sweet fragrance evokes a lot of sex appeal emotions, causing secret desires. With the advent of Angel, a new trend appeared in the world of perfumery - perfumes flavored with desserts, sweets, pastries and chocolate. The designer nurtured this idea for a very long time, the first mentions of perfume, causing a desire to eat the owner, were even before the 80-ies. Well, the well-known bottle in the form of a star, which can lie or stand on a stand, became the center of attention among rather monotonous perfume bottles of those times. In general, the 90's were booming: the brand celebrated its 20th anniversary with an incredible show in Paris, which was completely directed by the designer - then reigned the chic circus aesthetics, reshaped in a truly couture way. For his large-scale shows Thierry invited his favorite models and actresses, not neglecting rising stars such as Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. Realizing what people like in his creations, the designer displayed in his shows - so at one of the shows a giant background for the catwalk became a star Angel.
Another cult perfume hit of the brand is Alien. The mind-bogglingly beautiful bottle really reminds us of something alien, as well as the fragrance itself - the composition on the theme of jasmine turned out to be truly unique. The flower popular in perfumery has never been depicted in such a way before - and it fully justifies its name. There is something cosmic in the sound of the fragrance, but not synthetic, but rather something that could never be created by man. Fans of perfumery and Mugler brand in particular are tacitly divided into teams: someone is a fan of Angel, and someone fell in love with the Alien.
In 1997, the couturier created one of the most famous collections "Insects", which became a legendary example for future young designers.
Unfortunately, at the very beginning of the new century Thierry stopped producing clothes. Whether this was the influence of the Clarins concern, which bought the brand, or whether the maestro decided to take a break, it is unknown. But in some period from Mugler could buy only perfumes.
And yet in 2010 the post of creative director was briefly occupied by Nicola Formichetti, a designer who worked closely with Lady Gaga. His main goal was to appeal to a younger audience and he gave it a shift.
In 2013 David Koma, a designer with Georgian roots, continued Nicola's work, adding a new breath of boldness and brutality mixed with femininity, as broadcasted by Mugler himself.
Today the brand is headed by Casey Cadwallader, who previously worked at Acne Studios. The young designer has quite confidently taken the same route that Maestro Thierry has already taken. In his works, perhaps, there is a little less theatricality and abundant decor, but clearly traceable founder's love for cosmic, extraterrestrial phenomena (the editorial team dares to suggest that Casey is in the team Alien).
According to some information, the founder of Thierry Mugler, although he has moved away from active fashion activities, but still has not stopped creating creations for theaters. In addition, in one of the last interviews he mentioned that he is thinking about the idea of a new perfume. Whether it was to be a fragrance for the brand of his name or he wanted to dedicate his idea to someone else, we may never know.
Being dressed in Mugler means becoming the center of close attention and admiration every time. The variety of styles, united by the common voice of Mugler clothes will give you the opportunity to enrich each of your outfits and set the right degree of style.