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Mugler returns: A first look at Casey Cadwallader’s debut collection

On the northwestern outskirts of Barcelona, the head office of architect Ricardo Bofill rises up from a garden of olive and cypress trees like the Tower of Babel. Carved out of the shell of a disused cement factory La Fábrica, as it is known, is a place where Escher-like staircases lead to nowhere, colossal oxidised metal beams soar between béton brut walls and rooftops are coated in lush green lawns.

Here, on a balmy Sunday in April, Vogue came to meet Mugler’s new artistic director, Casey Cadwallader. Though he may not be a familiar name, there’s a good chance you have worn his designs. Until now, the American designer has worked largely behind the scenes at TSE, Loewe and J. Mendel, before becoming design director for women’s ready-to-wear and accessories at Narciso Rodriguez, and then design director of Acne Studios’ pre-collections. Cadwallader’s aptitude for, as he puts it, “translating yourself through the lens of the brand” will be an invaluable asset to Mugler, which has lost some of its momentum in recent years.

Established in 1974 by Thierry Mugler, the French fashion house pioneered the aggressively sexy, angular hourglass silhouette—achieved through padding a woman’s every curve and cinching in her waist—which became synonymous with the 1980s and early 1990s. Mugler was the man behind the iconic little black dress Demi Moore wore in Indecent Proposal, Diana Ross and daughter Tracee Ellis walked in his shows, and in 1992, he was director and costume designer for the era-defining music video for George Michael’s hit “Too Funky”, starring the likes of Linda Evangelista, Eva Herzigova and Tyra Banks. His creations transformed women into ice queens, superheroes and even motorbikes—creations famously reincarnated in 2009 when Mugler acted as creative adviser and costume designer to Beyoncé’s “I Am…” world tour. (The outfits go on display in February for the Thierry Mugler: Creatures of Haute Couture exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.)

Despite its success and enormous influence, Clarins—which has owned the Mugler name since 1997—was forced to close the house in 2003 due to substantial losses, but the ready-to-wear line was revived seven years later under Nicola Formichetti, who built a lot of buzz around the brand thanks to his frequent collaborations with Lady Gaga. His successor, David Koma, created beautifully cut designs favoured by the likes of Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, but the brand was far from regaining the stature of its heyday. Probably should note it was revived with RTW only.

We spent two days with Cadwallader as he shot his debut collection on a diverse cast of women. By bringing together the likes of literature graduate Jess Cole, who enviably landed an exclusive with Céline in her first season; hip-hop star 070 Shake; French Olympic swimmer Anna Santamans; actress Anna Brewster; and original Mugler muses Amy Wesson and Debra Shaw, he wants to “start a conversation around what powerful modern femininity means.” The photographs, taken by Arnaud Lajeunie, will be previewed in a private penthouse in Tribeca, New York on Wednesday, where guests will see the designs firsthand.

“This project is really about bringing variety to Mugler. Recently, [the brand] was only about evening wear, it didn’t really do more than dress elegant women, models and beautiful actresses for the red carpet,” the 38-year-old explains as he adjusts the collar of a black leather biker jacket on Cole. With its oversized belt buckle and broad shoulders, the references to the original Mugler are there, only softer and more supple—the armholes dropped to the top of the arm rather than jutting out at an angle, and the material itself only lightly buffed, not lacquered to the point of being fetishistic.

Later in the day, Cole changes into a trench coat made in collaboration with the artist Samara Scott. A zany concoction of ingredients are trapped between the two layers of clear vinyl from which the garment is cut, ranging from hair gel to curry powder and toothpaste. When opened up and held against the sun, it is a thing of ethereal beauty that resembles a basking butterfly—a subconscious nod to Mugler’s spring 1997 couture collection.

There’s a similarity between the way Paris-based Cadwallader, who hails from New Hampshire and holds a degree in architecture from Cornell University, is approaching Mugler and the way Bofill converted the cement factory—demolishing part of its structure to reveal concealed forms. Rather than tearing up the original Mugler manifesto, Cadwallader is “blowing down the walls of the brand” to extend its design vocabulary for the 21st century woman. “When I looked back at Mr Mugler’s archive, he made sportswear, swimsuits, he turned women into creatures, he had dancers, performance artists and musicians at his shows—there was this movement around him,” Cadwallader enthuses. “For me, women’s empowerment then was about having big shoulders to stand up to men in the workplace and also to attract their eye. [Whereas today] women still dress for power but for themselves. That is the big difference—not to be accepted by men but to be true to yourself and feel the power of self confidence, and choose your own destiny.”

The following day at a Bofill-designed summer house, Cadwallader’s attention to structure and form comes to the fore. Shaw, a long time Mugler muse, is electrifyingly elegant standing at the side of the red-tiled pool in a knitted dress and a Marco Panconesi for Mugler ear cuff that spouts white crystals like firework sparks. Meanwhile, 070 Shake is changing into a denim two-piece that teases the mind with its painstakingly assembled spiral seams, which seem to have no beginning or end. Perhaps one of the most literally referenced pieces in his collection (available at Net-a-Porter, Bergdorf Goodman and the Mugler store in Paris from August) is a fully canvassed jacket based on a men’s design from the Mugler archive, which comes in teal and black. The cut has been adapted to better suit a woman’s body, with laces so “any woman any size can adjust the strings and define their waist”, explains Cadwallader.

The designs aren’t short of ingenuity or craftsmanship, and although Cadwallader views this first body of work as an “experiment”—having only had seven weeks to design it following his December appointment—the 30-style collection is a coherent celebration of individuality. Going forward, the plan is to show the collections on schedule, but rather than pouring money into a runway show, Cadwallader intends to continue doing special events or presentations.

But how does it feel to wear Cadwallader’s Mugler compared to Thierry Mugler’s? Who better to ask than the women who have inspired both designers? “A Mugler suit made you appear strong even if you weren’t. It’s a special human power—you put on the suit and it gives you strength,” Shaw tells me over dinner that night. She pulls out her phone and shows me a photo of her and Amy Wesson modelling side-by-side in the Thierry Mugler Autumn/Winter 1998 couture show. This shoot, she believes, is the first time they have been reunited since that day. “Casey has really captured that spirit,” she continues. “To do that and still be in your own creative space is genius. You feel a bit of the old Mugler but it’s an advancement of today. It’s a perfect example of how [Thierry] would evolve with the times.”

1/20 Hip hop star 070 Shake, who signed to GOOD Music (Kanye West's Def Jam imprint) last year

Image: Christopher McCrory

Actor Anna Brewster

Image: Christopher McCrory

Mugler’s Artistic Director Casey Cadwallader dressing British model Jess Cole

Image: Christopher McCrory

Japanese model Ami Suzuki

Image: Christopher McCrory

Swiss model Vivienne Rohner

Image: Christopher McCrory

Japanese model Ami Suzuki

Image: Christopher McCrory

Casey Cadwallader and long time Mugler muse Debra Shaw

Image: Christopher McCrory

Marco Panconesi for Mugler ear cuff

Image: Christopher McCrory

British model Jess Cole

Image: Christopher McCrory

Hip hop star 070 Shake

Image: Christopher McCrory

French Olympic swimmer Anna Santamans

Image: Christopher McCrory

Original Mugler muse Amy Wesson

Image: Christopher McCrory

Actor Anna Brewster

Image: Christopher McCrory

Artist Samara Scott

Image: Christopher McCrory

Mugler’s Artistic Director Casey Cadwallader

Image: Christopher McCrory

Long time Mugler muse Debra Shaw circumvents Ricardo Bofill’s red-tiled pool

Image: Christopher McCrory

French Olympic swimmer Anna Santamans

Image: Christopher McCrory

The Ricardo Bofill-designed summer house with red-tiled pool

Image: Christopher McCrory

Ricardo Bofill’s La Fábrica

Image: Christopher McCrory

Ricardo Bofill’s La Fábrica

Image: Christopher McCrory

The post Mugler returns: A first look at Casey Cadwallader’s debut collection appeared first on VOGUE India.

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