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As Mugler showed, nothing succeeds like excess. The most astonishing thing about Manfred Thierry Mugler’s creative work wasn’t the work itself. It was that it never collapsed under the weight of its own excess. Even in his most outré creations, the French fashion designer, who died on Sunday at the age of 73, displayed a control that seemed to contradict the exuberance of his vision. Imagining a fusion of insects and women, as he did in his 1997 collection ‘Les Insectes’, could have served as fodder for jokes about the impracticality of haute couture — in Mugler’s hands, however, the wings of a butterfly folded elegantly down the back of a gown, the antennae of a ladybird, added playfulness to hats and the shiny carapace of a beetle was reimagined as a latex suit.
Mugler’s work shaped and was shaped by the over-the-top sensibilities of the 1980s-90s, when he mounted theatrical runway shows and clothed the likes of Madonna, David Bowie and Diana Ross. His fashion was so opulent that it never went out of style — Mugler stepped away from the industry in 2002, but still remained a sought-after costumier for a younger generation of celebrities like Beyoncé, Cardi B and Kim Kardashian. The appeal his work has for those who live their lives in the public eye may have something to do with the fact that Mugler understood performance and fashion’s role in it, having trained as a ballet dancer.
But he also understood that only an imagination tethered to a firm artistic vision can produce something truly spectacular. And Mugler’s vision revolved around the exaggerated proportions of the female form, with its wide shoulders, waspish waist and billowing hips. Whether he worked with chrome or latex and whether he drew inspiration from queer subcultures, artworks or automobiles and machines, his creations flattered even as they enveloped the wearer in pure fantasy. As Mugler showed, nothing succeeds like excess.
This editorial first appeared in the print edition on January 26, 2022 under the title ‘The power of excess’.
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