Thierry Mugler Autumn/Winter 2011

The start of Paris fashion week and a few words about the Mugler show. Formichetti clearly raced through the brand’s history and gained a huge head start by adhering to a profound Mugler conservatism. He has embraced the universally acknowledged Mugler trademarks: architectural, structural, powerful and exaggerated shapes to suggest the existence of a provoking superwoman. Presumably dictated by hours spent looking at the archives, Formichetti and Sébastien Peigné’s collection doesn’t innovate. It simply offered an enthusiastic concoction of PVC, stretch, rubber, fur jackets, transparent fabrics, leather. All fairly representative of the brand. The colour range was restricted to mostly black, white, pale pink and blue. The cultural heritage of Thierry Mugler has been preserved. But something strange happened while I was watching the show. I realised that despite the incredible theatricality, the poetic confusion that reigned on the catwalk, the staged debauchery, the religious undertone and the appearance of Lady Gaga (a play-acting royal vision surrounded by her court) I didn’t like the clothes. No matter how much I tried. The show was absorbing and I’ll admit that I found it incredibly entertaining. A pleasing association of “Paris is Burning” and George Michael’s “Too funky”. But what about the clothes? Should they not be more rewarding than the actual show? Is anyone actually paying attention to the clothes or has fashion just become mass entertainment? I would like to treasure memories of the styles and pieces worn on the catwalk instead of wondering about the prodigality of a theatrical experience.

Photo courtesy of Nicola Formichetti