With the recent passing of fashion designer Thierry Mugler, it is important to evaluate the designer’s commitment to representation on the runway.
Typically, when we picture the runway we think of models like Bella Hadid, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell. Or, in other words, cisgender women. Mugler, however, has also highlighted several queer and transgender models. As a gay man himself, Mugler realized the special connection between clothing and queerness as a form of expression. Although Mugler himself stepped down from his eponymous brand in 2002, current creative director Casey Cadwallader has too emphasized the need for representation on the runway. Mario Abad writing for Paper Magazine reports, “since taking over the [Mugler] in 2018, creative director Casey Cadwallader has also made it a point to showcase a breadth of body types and gender identities on his runways, not unlike founder Thierry Mugler did during his splashy era” (1). Most recently, Mugler featured two trans models, Hunter Schafer and Dominique Jackson, in its S/S 2021 collection. Moreover, after Mugler’s recent death in January, a slew of trans models, influencers, and activists took to social media to retell the impact of Thierry Mugler.
Queer models such as Violet Chacki, Fecal Matter, and Alex Consani all shared Instagram stories mourning the death of Mugler but also championing him as a creative and inclusive designer. His designs and collections were known for their hyperfeminine, human abstraction, and avant-garde displays. One of the fashion house’s most recognizable and iconic displays of this is the bodysuit. These pieces highlight the body and explicitly show all of its contours and shapes. They will always hold a special place within the queer community for their ability to express the body and normalize it.
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