Discover the Mugler collection for Spring-Summer 2022 here.
Mugler’s Creative Director Casey Cadwallader released its third installment of the trilogy of fashion films for Spring/Summer 2022. Directed by Torso Solutions, the latest episodes warp the East and West coasts of America in a high energy film. The all-star cast features 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, showcasing an archive Mugler Haute Couture Spring Summer 1998 ‘Jeu de Paume’ sequin halter neck dress suspended from a sculpted plexiglass collar.
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 is all about exploring the body through cut-outs and opaque layering, featuring colour gradients, bold striping, and lingerie-like silhouettes. It also 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 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.
