True Mugler
What was Kim Kardashian wearing at the Met Gala 2019? What was Dua Lipa’s “Future Nostalgia” tour outfit? They, and among many celebrities, are wearing Mugler. Mugler has been under the spotlight these past few years. Their collection looks sexy, confident and avant-garde! People just want a piece of it!
For H&M’s limited collection with Mugler and the retailer’s biggest collaboration to date since working with Balmain, Kenzo and Moschino, Mugler artistic director Casey Cadwallader designed every piece. It features a mix of H&M’s high street vibe with Mugler’s iconic styles. The collaboration shows the brand’s current and its past aesthetic. Cadwallader, who joined the brand in 2018, wanted the collection to be True Mugler.
Manfred Thierry Mugler founded Mugler in 1973. When he released Café de Paris, his first collection, people were surprised. Thierry Mugler made use of sharp suits with cinched waists and maxi shoulders to create a strong female silhouette. Mugler, as a brand, aims to create a unique world that challenges norms and subverts codes. They love to experiment with old and new techniques.
One of the biggest legacies of Mugler is their celebration of the woman. Thierry Mugler designed clothes that accentuated every curve, making women feel strong, confident, sexy, and fabulous.
Lukresia Quismundo, also known as @thirdworldbb, modeled Mugler’s Fall 2022 ready-to-wear collection in Paris Fashion Week. She shared that “Mugler has always been for everyone of all genders and sizes.” Looking through the collection pieces, a person is suggested by their own fierceness and beauty.” She shared that once the person wears it and realizes it’s theirs, the feeling transcends.
For Lukresia, Mugler is a means to live out her fantasy. She said Thierry Mugler’s shows have always been spectacles. His collections — starring vixens, mermaids, and bug-ladies — leave a person no choice but to be captivated. She further shared that Cadwallader continues this legacy, true to the Mugler DNA, with bigger reach and appeal.
When asked how it feels to wear Mugler, Lukresia shares that “Once you slip them on you immediately feel fierce.” She shared that she’s been imagining how it would feel to be in Mugler, hugging her body, for quite some time. She was invited for the spring-summer 2022 film, then the campaign for the Wolford collaboration, and the H&M campaign. Unfortunately, she was met with visa issues and could not attend any of these projects.
But finally last January, she was part of the show. It was everything that she imagined. “Being in Mugler as your second skin affirms one’s confidence that’s already there and you become unstoppable: this otherworldly, ethereal angel goddess,” shares Lukresia.
Lukresia says that Cadwallader has the amazing ability to understand the body, the panels and cut-outs that compliment people’s curves and muscles. People can enjoy such skill and the collection pieces are comfortable.
Currently Mugler has dressed the biggest stars, like Kylie Jenner, Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Beyoncé, Rosalia, Chris Lee, Lizzo, Bella Hadid, and Irina Shayk. The most recent event where Mugler took the stage was Coachella. Stars like Bad Bunny and Black Pink wore custom Mugler. These pieces were designed by Cadwallader. But aside from these celebrity appearances, the Mugler heritage continues through the archive of its pieces and exhibition in museums.
This collaboration allows his legacy to live on in the everyday. Lukresia declares that the collaboration is amazing because everyone can fulfill their Mugler fantasy without blowing their wallets. She shares that the magic is that a person can easily tell it’s Mugler.
“The materials are just comfortable, the designs are just as familiar from what we got to love with Mugler,” shares Lukresia. For her, the pieces that likely will be popular with a lot of people are the spiral-panel jeans and the bedazzled mini dress.
Lukresia describes the collaboration between Mugler and H&M as fierceness within everyone’s reach. The Mugler x H&M campaign has talent breaking borders and records. It celebrates everyone of all shape, color and identity. The campaign also includes her trans sisters ShyGirl and Arca.
For Lukresia, the collaboration reminds her that fashion is for everyone. Everyone has access to a fantasy. She shares that “I work on my garments with pre-existing materials which help me realize the image I want to portray at a certain moment. The image you are thinking about now is literally at your reach and that is what this collaboration is bringing.”
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Mugler x H&M is in SM Makati and on hm.com.
