From the 1970s until 2002, when Thierry Mugler turned the page on fashion, the designer established himself as one of the most daring and inventive couturiers of his time, going so far as to embody the image of the 1980s, thanks to a graphic silhouette of remarkable strength. In the 1990s, he made a powerful contribution to the renaissance of haute couture through his collections and his sense of staging spectacular catwalks and grandiose photographs, allied with the most iconic models.
“Thierry Mugler, Couturissime” organized in several acts, like an opera, thematically mixes costumes, animated projections, photographs and music, creating atmospheres that embody the different projects in which the artist has been involved since the end of the years.
The exhibition, which is spread over two levels, opens with an evocation of Mugler’s fantastic bestiary, from the microfauna to the depths of the sea giving pride of place to excess: futuristic silhouettes with pointed shoulders, abyssal necklines, unreal wasp sizes …Two exceptional silhouettes from the Insects and Chimera collections (1997/1998) brilliantly illustrate this section. A black velvet drag sheath, adorned with butterfly wings from the house of Lemarié and an articulated “creature” of iridescent scales embroidered with crystals, fancy diamonds, feathers and horsehair, are now part of the masterpieces. absolute works of sewing. Nymphs dressed in notched glass shell bustiers and extravagant organza jellyfish seem to move twenty thousand leagues under the sea. Science fiction takes over from this animal and aquatic world: comic book superheroines, industrial design and futuristic automobiles become new sources of inspiration.
Surprising robotic, bodied, aerodynamic creatures, fashioned from innovative materials, which have become emblematic, anticipate the revolutions of transhumanism. The artist has humorously designed removable or “convertible” sleeves, “bumper” bustiers, and “radiator” belts. One can only admire his Maschinenmensch, unveiled in 1995 for the 20th anniversary of his company: a fully articulated robotic armor which required no less than six months of intensive work. Outside of fashion design, Thierry Mugler distinguished himself in the field of perfumery by giving birth, in 1992, to Angel, an olfactory revolution that launched the trend for gourmet fragrances. A room staged by the artist completes this section by evoking the world of scents imagined by the creator and which have always been synonymous for him with infinity and dreams.
From the end of the 1960s, fashion photography developed by replacing illustrations to fully impose itself. From the second floor, the exhibition devotes pride of place to this medium with many rare prints signed by the greatest artists and fashion photographers, including Guy Bourdin, Jean-Paul Goude, Karl Lagerfeld, Dominique Issermann, David LaChapelle , Luigi & Iango, Sarah Moon, Pierre et Gilles, Paolo Roversi, Herb Ritts and Ellen von Unwerth as well as the fruitful collaboration between Thierry Mugler and photographer Helmut Newton.
A room is dedicated to the photographic achievements of Mugler himself who, in 1976, began shooting his own visual campaigns, playing on the glamor and beauty of his muses, from Jerry Hall to Iman, in places extremes, from Greenland to the Sahara, to the roofs of the Paris Opera.
At the end of the 1970s, Mugler created the “glamazone”, a chic, modern, urban and glamorous woman going against the flower power and hippie fashion of the time. In a black and white decor, his sequined creations evoke the temptation of eroticism and fetishism, with more bare outfits combining latex and vinyl, subversive and innovative materials, which he elevates to the rank of classics.
Music takes pride of place with Georges Michael’s “Too funky ” music video directed by Thierry Mugler, whose outfits are worn by the most famous top models of the 1990s, from Eva Herzigova to Linda Evangelista, from Emma Sjöberg to Estelle Lefebure passing by transgender model Connie Girl, performer Joey Arias and Julie Newmar, the first Catwoman . It also pays tribute to eight-time Oscar-winning American costume designer Edith Head. Mugler also launched, on his catwalks, the phenomenon of parades shows, by inviting Hollywood celebrities, such as Diana Ross, Tippi Hedren or Sharon Stone, and signing their staging and soundtracks himself.
Finally, the exhibition brings to life a selection of costumes designed by the artist for “Macbeth,” a play presented by the Comédie-Française troupe at the Avignon festival in 1985. The costume for the character of the first witch, sketches displayed on the wall as well as a multimedia installation by Michel Lemieux (4D Art), are just a few examples of the elements transporting us to this powerfully tragic Shakespearean world.
“Thierry Mugler, Couturissime ” is an opportunity to discover and rediscover this total artist, in turn dancer, stage man, photographer and designer, a man who marked his time by revolutionizing fashion through his creations with sculptural morphologies à la both futuristic and elegant. His distinctive style has transcended fashions and has influenced generations of designers to this day.
