Thierry Mugler's 5 most revolutionary fashion shows In memoria dell'enfant terrible della moda francese

Last night Manfred Thierry Mugler passed away at 74. Much more than a name on a perfume bottle, the enfant terrible was one of the most significant stylists in fashion history who for more than three decades celebrated the female body with a structured, instantly recognizable silhouette: very narrow waist, broad shoulders, accentuated hips. Extravagant, sexy and irreverent: from her first Café de Paris clothing line in 1973, her clothes have guided women towards emancipation through the affirmation of an armored, robotic, animal, disruptive body, undeniably resistant to any social convention. "I have ideas, clichés, barriers," said Thierry Mugler - "It's irresistible, the war on cliché". The designer marked a clear turning point in the fashion of the 80s-90s by drawing inspiration from the most disparate elements: American cars of the seventies, film noir, the world of insects, combined with a deep passion for corsets, made in collaboration with Jean-Jacques Urcun, and the use of unconventional materials for the time (rubber, chrome, resin and plexiglass). Yet, after two decades of success, over the years, he was perhaps the first designer whose success increased in a reduced way to his personal desire to disappear. After the failure of the eponymous brand, the designer disappeared from the radar and then reappeared four years later as a completely transformed person, barely recognizable for the numerous plastic surgeries and a jump to the registry office to change his first name from Thierry a Manfred. Tired of the increasingly frenetic life of the fashion industry, he has turned his attention to the creation of costume-made shows and dresses, such as the one worn by Kim Kardashian at the 2019 Met Gala. Yet, despite her attempts to be forgotten, her creations continued to speak and inspire designers who openly claim her influence, as well as numerous pop stars including Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Cardi B, who still wear her dresses today. Here is a list of the 5 fashion shows that have irreversibly marked fashion.

Ready-to-wear AW 1984-1985: tenth anniversary

Continuing from the previous collection, Les Chimères has transformed insect-women into fantastic creatures, which inhabit the designer's dreams. Thierry Mugler has translated this imaginary distant land, with an eye to the East and its aesthetics. Thus, we find pieces with influences from Russia and East Asia. The absolute highlight of the show was the Chimera dress in which model Adriana Karembeu became a hybrid creature, a winged mermaid in all colors of the rainbow. Designed by Jean-Jacques Urcun and the corset manufacturer Mr Pearl, an exceptional dress, which took two years to make: each scale of the reptilian armor was hand painted. It is considered to be one of the most expensive dresses in the history of fashion.