Thierry Mugler wasn’t the only designer to have reimagined the fashion show, but he was the one to have blown the format apart. In the 90s, he transformed the runway into the kind of high camp pageantry that now feels par for the course: inviting Diana Ross to walk and casting trans models Connie Fleming and Teri Toye as regular fixtures.
It’s a tradition that Casey Cadwallader has compounded three decades later, taking to the final day of the couture shows in Paris to lay on the fashion extravaganza of the season. Here is a non-exhaustive list of everyone who walked: Ziwe, Paloma Elsesser, Irina Shayk, Raya Martigny, Adut Akech, Anok Yai, Mariacarla Boscono, Aweng Chuol, Dominique Jackson, Debra Shaw (!) and Arca – who Kawasaki-zoomed onto the catwalk on the back of a TV trolley, before slut-dropping, stomping, and attempting to drag Symone off the front row. Each of them were clad in Mugler’s sinuous body suits, some in redux Cadillac corsets, all honking of attitude.
While Mugler has been on a fashion week runway hiatus until now, the brand's presence has hardly left the cultural zeitgeist, with the Couturissime exhibition opening in New York and celebrities like Kylie Jenner continuing to embrace its expansive archive.
Per WWD, a representative from Mugler stated that this wasn't "a classical return to the runway." Its latest stays true to the label's definitive style and the direction Cadwallader has taken the brand, with its architectural shapes, broad shoulders, cinched waists and futuristic fabrics. Fall 2023 has bodysuits, dresses, corsets and lingerie, all enhanced by sharp tailoring and revealing mesh cutouts.
High-stakes, high-octane, high glamour: the runway show as an entertainment spectacle has been a source of derision for industry critics, but when fashion is hurtling towards another unprecedented, but inevitable, combustion with pop culture, Cadwallader let the flames ignite. All that showmanship was in service to the body, which was bound boudoir-style in pelts of lace, slashed bodycons, and wipe-clean corsetry. The sleeves of blown-up biker jackets were extended into fisting gloves; slithers of denim skirts were squared off at the waist; while kidney-shaped leather bags were whipped about with villainy.
Thierry Mugler wasn’t the only designer to have reimagined the fashion show, but he was the one to have blown the format apart. In the 90s, he transformed the runway into the kind of high camp pageantry that now feels par for the course: inviting Diana Ross to walk and casting trans models Connie Fleming and Teri Toye as regular fixtures.
It’s a tradition that Casey Cadwallader has compounded three decades later, taking to the final day of the couture shows in Paris to lay on the fashion extravaganza of the season. Here is a non-exhaustive list of everyone who walked: Ziwe, Paloma Elsesser, Irina Shayk, Raya Martigny, Adut Akech, Anok Yai, Mariacarla Boscono, Aweng Chuol, Dominique Jackson, Debra Shaw (!) and Arca – who Kawasaki-zoomed onto the catwalk on the back of a TV trolley, before slut-dropping, stomping, and attempting to drag Symone off the front row. Each of them were clad in Mugler’s sinuous body suits, some in redux Cadillac corsets, all honking of attitude. Ziwe made her catwalk debut at the brand's Fall 2023 show, donning a lacy black set, featuring a mini skirt and long-sleeved bolero, with tall leather boots, matching black lipstick and hair pulled back into a high ponytail. (Was she a Mugler exclusive this season? Either way, she made for quite an iconic guest.) Also modeling the collection was Casey Cadwallader favorite Dominique Jackson, musician Arca and fashion week regular Paloma Elsesser, as well as industry titans Amber Valletta, Eva Herzigova and Debra Shaw.
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