Snip from a profile of fashion designer Thierry Mugler, king of '90s robocouture, from this weekend's New York Times:
“[…] I relate to space because it helps me realize that nothing is as important as you first think. There’s always something bigger.”
While it’s tempting to dismiss him as the Shirley MacLaine of fashion, Mugler moonwalks it like he talks it and has steadfastly adhered to his fantastical aesthetic since the early 1970s. Now, seven years after the crash of his label, the rest of the fashion world has landed on Planet Mugler.
Mugler’s PVC-clad intergalactic dominatrixes, who first invaded the runways in the mid-’80s, re-entered the fashion stratosphere at the spring shows. There they were at Balenciaga, where robo-babe metallic leggings brought to mind Mugler’s cyber-couture from the early ’90s; at Dolce & Gabbana, where dresses that appeared to have been made from space junk bore a striking similarity to Mugler’s signature hardware; and at Alexander McQueen, where frothy chiffon confections fit for a prom on Saturn were clones of Mugler’s jellyfish gowns at his farewell couture show in 2000.
Link to story with video feature. Image: At left, Iman in a Mugler design from 1991. At right, Balenciaga (near left) and D&G (far right) models wearing Mugleresque work from the spring shows. (thanks, Susannah Breslin and Christina Noren!)
