As the world celebrates the life of the legendary Dame Vivienne Westwood who died this week aged 81, we also remember another fashion icon who died in 2022. Thierry Mugler, the openly gay, French fashion designer who dressed celebrities from Lady Gaga to Beyoncé, was 73. when he passed away in January.
The House of Mugler, his brand, described the famous designer as a “visionary whose imagination as a couturier, perfumer and image-maker empowered people around the world to be bolder and dream bigger every day.” Part of what set Mugler apart from other designers of his time was his unique view of what fashion should be.
“I don’t believe in natural fashion,” he told the NY Times in 1994. “Let’s go for it! The corset. The push-up bra. Everything! If we do it, let’s do the whole number.”
Mugler was a beloved figure in the LGBTQ community who fought extensively for queer rights. Throughout his career, which started in the 1970s, he showcased many trans models, like Connie Fleming, Teri Toye, and Roberta Close.
“The outwardness of designers embracing being gay wasn’t then a thing,” Paul Cavaco, the fashion director of Harper’s Bazaar during Mugler’s heyday, told the New York Times. “People knew but you didn’t really talk about it. It was considered not chic. And here he was sending drag queens like Lypsinka down the runway.”
Though he retired from fashion in the early 2000s, Mugler still left his mark on the current fashion landscape. Some of today’s biggest celebrities – including Katy Perry, Rihanna and Cardi B – have worn iconic Mugler garments. In 2009, Beyoncé wore a Harley-Davidson corset designed by Mugler for a George Michael video. Lady Gaga donned a famous suit-dress and hat from Mugler’s 1995 collection in her 2010 music video for “Telephone.”
Now the Brooklyn Museum of Art is honoring Mugler and his work in Thierry Mugler: Couturissime the first retrospective to explore the fascinating, edgy universe of this French designer and creator of iconic perfumes. It recognizes him as a fashion visionary who established himself as one of the most daring and innovative designers of the late twentieth century. His bold silhouettes and unorthodox techniques and materials—including glass, Plexiglas, vinyl, latex, and chrome—made their mark on fashion history.
The exhibition features over one hundred outfits ranging from haute couture pieces to stage costumes, alongside custom accessories, sketches, videos, images by leading fashion photographers, and spectacular installations that mirror Mugler’s futuristic approach. The Brooklyn Museum’s presentation also introduces an expanded section dedicated to fragrance, centered on Mugler’s trailblazing scent Angel. Thierry Mugler: Couturissime is an opportunity to discover and rediscover the fantastical work of this multidisciplinary artist, who revolutionized the world of fashion.
Thierry Mugler: Couturissime November 18, 2022–May 7, 2023 https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/
PS After he retired from his business Mugler dramatically transformed himself through a series of facial operations and extreme sessions in the gym. He also rebranded himself using his real name Manfred Thierry Mugler.
The bodybuilding, he claimed, was a continuation of his 15 years of ballet as a young man. “My body is in perpetual construction“, he said in 2017 as he also showed off his new beefcake muscles. He said he wanted to look like a sculpture, adding: “The physical mutation was a sort of return to myself, a repairing and reconstruction too.”
In 2019, Mugler then aged 70 posed naked for INTERVIEW Magazine …….photograph by Steven Klein
