How Mugler’s 90s Collection Affected Contemporary Fashion
Thierry Mugler 1995 F/W Couture show had left a huge positive impact for the brand’s entire reputation, as well as the fashion world in general. The iconic runway now known as Mugler’s most legendary show, showcased his brilliant art work and his capability to push the boundaries of Haute Couture. Since it has been known for quite a while that Haute Couture can be heavy in terms of restriction and regulation. Consisting of 109 looks, Mugler F/W 95 show was bedazzled with supermodels of the 90s. Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Shalom Harlow, Linda Evangelista, and Stella Elis were a few of the models who contributed to walk for the show. It is even mentioned about how deserving Thierry Mugler is as one of the world’s greatest couturiers due to the existence of this show, it was said, “Mugler is deemed to be one of the more revolutionary designers for Haute Couture. This hour-long show proved that his commitment to the art of fashion was more than enough to show that he deserved that title.” (Lanzona, 2017). Furthermore, the one hour show was even broadcasted in the french television. A concrete evidence of how influential the show and Thierry Mugler was in the fashion Industry.
Despite being at his peak in the 90s, Mugler stays relevant even in the 21st century. Almost three decades later, his work from the F/W 1995 show is still being admired by the global audience, fashion critics, and even celebrities. One of its main legacy was the appearance of latex. He dressed female figures in boxy jackets, ginormous hats, and black skin tight latex leggings as a way to emphasize the feminine silhouette. As stated by Davidson, E. (2019), “Mugler’s work was a desire to celebrate the female form, with latex proving the ideal fabric to do so.” The positive response of latex introduced by Mugler then managed to influence future fashion collections. Few of its most notorious examples are in Clare Waight Keller’s Givenchy S/S 2019 Couture show and in Balenciaga F/W 2022 Couture show. Latex was playing a major role in the two fashion houses. Givenchy used Latex as the main material for some of its garments, such as leggings and bodysuits. Meanwhile in Balenciaga, latex is introduced as a statement piece, where it was used as a full person body suit and a way to communicate the meaning behind the collection. It can’t be argued that more or less, Mugler has contributed a lot in kinky materials such as latex to be taken more professionally in the fashion world.
Another example of how influential Thierry Mugler is, can be seen through his capability of transforming his vision of what fashion would look like in a distant future into reality. Mugler worked with aircraft specialist, Jean-Pierre Delcros, to form a metal bodysuit that portrays a human-like android in a futuristic manner, while somehow maintaining the silhouette of feminine figure into the whole look. Up until recently, the look still hold a huge impact to the fashion world, it was even stated by Davidson, (2019) “The garment was later immortalized in print by Helmut Newton, and has gone on to influence countless designers in the time since its debut: with the likes of Alexander McQueen, Nicolas Ghesquière, and Gareth Pugh among them.”
The chromatic android bodysuit successfully introduced ‘futuristic fashion’ into a wider audience, making metallic color the epitome of the whole look. High end fashion houses such as Prada, Maison Margiela, and Diesel are known for their release of metallic chrome pieces prior to the success of Mugler’s ‘95 show. Prada with its silver Cleo bag, Margiela with its silver Tabi shoes, and Diesel with their iconic silver 1DR bag. Moreover, the trend of the futuristic color doesn’t seem to decrease any time soon, “While there were a few splashes of color — like the sparkling lavender number at Off — White or the cult-favorite double-bow mules by Mach & Mach — versatile shades of silver, gold, and black will rule supreme this fall.” (Bennet, 2022).
Seeing that fast fashion brands such as Zara and H&M are already offering metallic colored fashion item dupes this season. H&M recently launched their bag dupes for Prada Cleo and Balenciaga Le Cagole in silver, as well as silver loose fitted pants that visualize the 90s vibes. Further indicates how the ‘95 show is still capable of being relevant to present fashion even after almost three decades existing.
As much as how fashion enthusiasts admire the entire collection, A-listers celebrities can’t say otherwise about the French couturier. Mugler’s iconic pieces have always been known for its re-appearance on many global occasions worn by most influential celebrities, especially in this recent era. The Venus dress for example made a huge comeback when Cardi B wore it to the red carpet of Grammy Awards in 2019. Mugler surely took the painting of The Birth of Venus (Sandro Botticelli, 1486) as his main inspiration. He translated the painting into a structured column skirt, with the upper half part of it embodying the open clam shell of Venus and the bottom half of it having a rather straighter silhouette made out of velvet. Mugler used a sparkly see-through mesh top and bunch of pearl elements to complete the whole look.
Though it’s hard to identify a modern era piece that looks identical to the Venus dress, it’s also untenable that there are many more conventional interpretations of the notorious look in recent fashion. For instance, the trend of transparent bodices that made it big in 2022. It was said that, “There’s one style that the fashion set has been transfixed with for nearly a year: fall 2022’s sheer trend.” (Marzovilla, 2022). Fashion brands such as MSGM was one out of many examples who followed the trend of sheer. MSGM released a black long sleeve sheer mesh top that was decorated with colorful embroidery. Although the similarities between the two items from MSGM and Mugler are rather vague, it’s still hard to deny that more or less Mugler’s ‘95 show took a huge credit for the popularity of mesh.
Another piece from the show that left a huge impact on today’s fashion, is the feathered sequin red dress that was worn recently by Cardi B to the opening event of ‘Thierry Mugler, Couturissime’. The dress was heavily decorated with red jewels and sequins, had a low cut bustier top, and a body hugging silhouette on the bottom. There was also a cape that drags to the floor attached to the back, with an enormous feather ornament that almost covers the entire part of the body as a complimentary element of the gown. Thus it’s not surprising that this type of sequined, feathered dress has made a popular comeback in recent years. With it being high on demand, several fashion houses such as Chanel, released its own version of sequined feathered dress at the S/S 2017 Couture show. The dresses were dominated with silvery sequins, and their hem being attached with pastel colored ostrich feathers. Undoubtedly resembles the ruby red gown made by the French couturier.
As the world’s one of the greatest couturiers, Mugler had left us with many iconic fashion moments the world had ever seen. His brilliant idea of translating his visions to wearable fashion had left us astonished for more than two decades. His legacy in the fashion world will always be appreciated and remembered by the global fashion enthusiasts through the existence of fashion itself. In conclusion, despite the fact that the show has been existing for a long time, Thierry Mugler’s iconic silhouette, his boldness on choosing what fabrics to incorporate in his collection, and his captivating way to add revolutionary elements on his garments will always be a great source of inspiration to present and upcoming season of fashion.
