Well, it’s all about looking good, helping the silhouette…and all about getting a great fuck, honey.
-Thierry Mugler
Thierry Mugler was born in Strasbourg (France) in 1948 and was one of the most popular designers of the 80s.
He left his job as a dancer to engage in the world of fashion and coinciding with the rise of Yves Saint Laurent, start designing. So in 1973 he presented his first women’s collection and after its success founded his own brand.
He managed to mark a before and after in the runaways with Claude Montana and Jean Paul Gaultier, returning the glamorous to the Parisian catwalks.
His designs were based on the comic, science fiction or zoology and through these factors make their catwalks a show, being one of the forerunners of fashion shoulder pads. The crow and the vinyl were their main allies and has been criticized for using in his designs because it looked so misogynistic and fetishistic.
He wanted his shows to be perfect, so he was the responsible for carrying the lighting and styling of his own parades.
With the end of the twentieth century, it begins the era of minimalism and that is how the aesthetics of Mugler got into decline, confirming his retirement in 2002. In 2003 he began to devote himself to the staging of shows, from choreography to costume for special effects.
Still, the brand continues mainly with the line of perfumes (property of Clarins brand, one of its main sources of income). Artists like Beyoncé or Lady Gaga are fortunate to bring some of his designs, especially Gaga. Nicola Formichetti is the Italo-Japanese designer and stylist who dressed the singer with Mugler designs. Therefore he proposed to Mugler be the new creative director of the brand to revive it. It was only with the brand a couple of years, until finally was signed by the company Diesel.
Right now, the creative director of the brand is David Koma, retaining some of the essence of Mugler designs but being more discreet.