Featuring an all - star cast of Mugler personas, protagonists from the worlds of fashion and film collide in mind-bending vignettes that fetishize the nuances of identity and self -expression in a world of counterfeits and clones. Taking unprecedented cinematic license, micro-narratives weave in and out from day to night, as doppelgangers and star-crossed lovers battle for screen time with a shapeshifting army of sirens, warriors, vixens, and acrobats. Chloë Sevigny marches through the ersatz streets of New York, Shalom Harlow and Amber Valletta kiss on the hood of a stretch limousine, and Megan Thee Stallion drops in on a virtual billboard high above us mere mortals. Glitches in the matrix punctuate the film, jolting the collection’s sharp modernity with a surrealist edge.
Paying reverent homage, a final passage is dedicated to the late Manfred Mugler, as prima ballerina Maria Kochetkova and vogueing superstar Barbie Swaee spin and swerve in an urgent, graceful call-and-response of dancing styles. Each embodies the magnetic duality of the Mugler legacy, showcasing an archive Mugler Haute Couture Spring Summer 1998 ‘Jeu de Paume’ sequin halter neck dress suspended from a sculpted plexiglass collar.
In constant movement, the Spring Summer 2022 collection is showcased in 360° throughout, revealing the evolution of Mugler shapewear silhouettes, denim, eveningwear and tailoring across a diverse array of bodies. A hothouse palette punctuates the Mugler color card of monochromes, flesh tones and denim, sheathing the body in ombré shades of orchid pinks and purples, vermillion, and coral. Illusion tulle – a new house signature – is applied on bodysuits to carve out impossible necklines in razor-sharp points, replacing lycra elsewhere on floating spiral and corset denim designs. Manfred Mugler’s archive inspires sculpted Perspex hardware – loops and hooks that suspend draped tops, trousers and skirts grazing erogenous zones at the bust and hip.
Extending the Mugler repertoire, new dégradé ‘Hoochie’ dresses apply asymmetry of color and drape, whilst an array of cutout bodies and corsets feature gloss lycra panels, structured busts, and gloved sleeves. Tailored wool jackets are sliced open across the décolleté with double straps that wrap around the bust, and jeans spill and flare at the ankle: revealing the new Mugler shoe collection of severe pointed pumps and architectural stiletto sandals with stacked, elongated toes.
BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE NEW COLLECTION
