MUGLER SS22’ Embodies the Magnetic Duality of the Mugler Legacy
A fashion fever dream.
Mugler’s Creative Director Casey Cadwallader presented the brand’s Spring/Summer 2022 collection with a fashion film featuring the likes of Chloë Sevigny, Bella Hadid, Earthheater, Amber Valletta and more. Inspired by unprecedent times, each individual throughout the cinematic experience embodies the magnetic duality of the Mugler legacy.
This season marks Casey Cadwallader’s first collection since house founder Manfred Thierry Mugler tragically passed away in January of this year just before beginning production. “All of a sudden, I was coming home at midnight, and my phone started ringing like crazy,” said the new creative director. “There are these facets to Mugler and ongoing energy, which for me, is something that has shifted now he’s passed. I always used to think of him when I was working and think what’s he going to think? And is this going to make him happy?”
Moreover, Cadwallader shines in cultivating Mugler’s theatrical approach to fashion and the runway using music, models, and movement to tell a collection’s story. “I’ve learned too much from doing this, there’s just so much more room for expression in this format,” said Cadwallader. “Mugler has always been so much about music, culture and performance – then fashion is about image-making. It just makes sense that these all can flow together.”
Casey Cadwaller’s latest Spring Summer 2022 collection celebrates identity and self-expression “in a world of counterfeits and clones”. It is also the thirst instalment of the house’s “trilogy” series directed by Torso Solutions and styled by Haley Wollens.
The collection features icons Chloë Sevigny, Bella Hadid, Earthheater, Amber Valletta and Megan Starring Thee Stallion to name a few. For this Mugler Spring Summer 22 Collection, Cadwallader relies on the performing skills of his muses to showcase the versatility of the Maison.
The collection is also a strong exploration of his signature elements. Ombre body-con dresses suspended from sculpted collars referencing a 1998 haute couture dress feel fresh and directional. Shapewear silhouettes, denim, eveningwear, and tailoring pieces in sand-like, earthy tones that meet monochromes and denim, all the pieces embrace the models’ curves through optic effects. In addition, the brand also plays with the concept of asymmetry, new dégradé ‘Hoochie’ dresses, challenging the viewer with unexpected designs and colours. “This is the most bare collection I’ve done,” Cadwallader said with a laugh. “After this I’m going to dial it in a little bit.”
Cutout bodies and corsets are embellished with lycra panels, structured busts, and gloved sleeves. Tailoring is also reinvented with a focus on a hyperfeminine vision of womanhood. Wool jackets are cut wide open to unveil the models’ décolleté as they march intrepidly on the severely pointed pumps and stiletto sandals from the latest Mugler shoe collection.
