THE FRENCH FASHION DESIGNER THIERRY MUGLER PASSED AWAY AT 73, ACCORDING TO A MESSAGE POSTED ON HIS OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT.
“We are devastated to announce the passing of Mr. Manfred Thierry Mugler on Sunday, January 23, 2022,” the post read.
His brand, Mugler, confirmed the death through its official site, remembering its founder as “a visionary whose imagination as a designer, perfumer, and image creator empowered people around the world to be bolder and dream bigger every day.“
Manfred Thierry Mugler was born in Strasbourg, France in 1948. He worked as an independent designer in Paris before founding Mugler, his namesake brand, in 1974. By the 1980s, Mugler had established himself as a prominent figure in the fashion industry thanks to his extravagant creations.
THE FASHION SHOW
Thierry Mugler associated fashion with entertainment. The presentation of his collections, campaigns, and fashion shows were a spectacle featuring the most well-known supermodels and celebrities. His aesthetic was inspired by science fiction and classic glamour, resulting in a fusion of classic and exaggerated silhouettes.
From metallic robot suits to surreal silhouettes, his creations were worn by Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Cardi B, Kim Kardashian, and Lady Gaga, who in her 2009 music video “Paparazzi” wore a metallic suit designed by Mugler.
Thierry also showed that extravagance wasn’t all he knew. An example is the iconic dress that Demi Moore wore in her role in the 1993 movie “Indecent Proposal.”
ANGEL SCENT AND RETIREMENT
In 1992, Mugler launched his legendary fragrance “Angel”, one of the most well-known in the world and an icon of the bond between haute couture and perfumery in the luxury world.
Despite the success of the fragrance, Mugler’s prêt-à-porter designs became unprofitable in the early 21st century, where extravagance gave way to more basic aesthetic proposals.
Thierry Mugler retired from the fashion industry to pursue other creative projects. Mugler reinvented himself and directed his creativity towards the entertainment world, designing the costumes for Beyoncé’s “I Am… World Tour” and the artistic production of Cirque du Soleil’s “Zumanity” among other projects.
Although he was associated with the glamour of 1980s and 1990s fashion, his style and creations remain entirely relevant. In 2019, Thierry Mugler came out of retirement to create the dress Kim Kardashian wore at the 2019 Met Gala.
In his later years, Mugler passionately dedicated himself to artistic creation and cultural dissemination and began using his first name, Manfred, instead of Thierry, his second name by which he was known, in an attempt to distance his various professional facets.
MUGLER AND THE LENS
Thierry Mugler was not only a prolific fashion designer. He was also a renowned photographer whose work in advertising campaigns and short films was internationally recognized, including the famous music video for George Michael’s 1992 song “Too Funky” de George Michael the painful chain of deaths within the fashion industry continues, such as Virgil Abloh or André Leon Talley.
The American designer Christian Siriano tweeted, “Another icon lost today. Rest well in ultimate beauty #thierrymugler. You’ve opened many doors,” in tribute to Thierry Mugler.
May he rest in peace.
