Over a career that spanned six decades, the daring couturier dressed the likes of Grace Jones, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Céline Dion and lent his name to the phenomenally successful Angel perfume.
Manfred Thierry Mugler, the avant-garde French fashion designer famed for his extravagant runway shows and for dressing the likes of Grace Jones, Demi Moore, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Céline Dion and Kim Kardashian West has died. He was 73.
The Mugler brand’s official Instagram account revealed the designer’s death on Sunday. “#RIP. We are devastated to announce the passing of Mr. Manfred Thierry Mugler on Sunday January 23rd 2022. May his soul Rest In Peace,” said the caption to the post.
His agent told AFP that Mugler had died of “natural causes,” and was planning on announcing new collaborations this week.
Breaking into the French fashion scene in the 1970s, Mugler became one of the dominant names in the industry by the 1980s. His bold and sexually confident clothes with powerful broad-shouldered and slim-waisted silhouettes became a sensation, defining the era of “power dressing,” and his runway shows, which famously drew inspiration from such varied things as robots, mermaids, cars and insects, were must-see events.
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Manfred Thierry Mugler was born in Strasbourg, France in December 1948. As a teenager, Mugler studied drawing, interior design and dance, with career aspirations in the latter. He moved to Paris to pursue a career in ballet but found his calling in fashion, quickly gaining a reputation for the clothes he had designed for himself. He freelanced as a stylist for a few years, before showing his first collection under the Café de Paris name in 1973. He launched his eponymous label the following year.
Inspired by the likes of Cristóbal Balenciaga and Christian Dior, Mugler went against the prevailing trends in Paris high fashion at the time, focusing his energy on distinctly Parisian items such as the little black dress and the trenc