Mugler Moves Forward
Review of Mugler Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Complete with fog machines, dramatic lighting changes, curtain lifts, and cameras zooming around on tracks, the Fall 2024 Mugler show once again proved creative director Casey Cadwallader as a worthy inheritor of the house’s legendary founder. But while the drama ran high, a grounding thread of reality and personal liberation was also powerfully palpable.
Cadwallader continued to flex and refine his master of house signatures like corsetry, cutouts, and catsuits. But while there is still that emphasis on being close to the body, a new sense of volume and dimensionality is woven through as well, appearing via expansive fringes, draping, and visible, sculptural dress construction elements.
New and noteworthy were the menswear looks, a category introduced by the brand as part of its most recent pre-fall collection. While it will take some fine tuning to balance the Mugler spirit with the somewhat more traditional grounding of men’s clothing, the combination of slickly powerful tailoring and sensual flow was convincing that the brand is making the right moves forward on this front.
The collection also included an excellent example of one of Cadwallader’s rare foray’s into prints. The creative director partnered with painter Ambera Wellmann, whose surreal, dark, and decadent scenes grace velvet dresses and silk pants, lending a whirlwind of color and form that stood out from the collection’s solids yet felt right at home amid its dramatic and provocative atmosphere.
THE BUZZWORDS
Theatrical. Futuristic. Sensual. Powerful.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #35
At once nostalgic and futuristic, this beautifully moving look exemplifies the collection’s considered synthesis of remaining tightly close to the body and expanding far beyond it.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Cadwallader and company continue to do great work guiding this cult-favorite brand forward. For whatever reason, Mugler today feels less talked about than it deserves – but collections like these should have everybody watching.
