Mugler Resort 2012

I think I was just too young to catch Mugler-mania in the 90s, so when the label was resurrected under the tutelage of Nicola Formichetti, I viewed it with a completely fresh eyes, without any pre-conceived ideas of the direction it would take. I took and accepted the suped-up, super sexy aesthetic…which is why I was quite confused when I first saw the Resort 2012 collection. It’s just so different to the autumn/winter 2011 collection, all sleek and form-fitting. It took a bit of Googling but I eventually found some campaign and catwalk images from the original Thierry Mugler collections and I have to say, I have a new appreciation for the resort collection. It takes key elements of the classic Mugler look such as the structured, accentuated shapes and silhouettes and modern, futuristic look with vinyl, lycra and patent fabrics. 

In an exceptionally strong resort season, I thought that Mugler fell a little short of the expectations. It just seems a little flat and generic, had the logo not been put onto the images they could have been from a number of different labels. I’m glad the design team have been looking at Mugler archives for inspiration but I don’t feel like they have really captured the essence of the brand…yet. On the upside, it’s a lot more wearable and approachable than the AW11 collection but still retains the fundamental obvious sexiness.