“Thierry Mugler: Couturissime,” opened at the Brooklyn Museum last week and is presented until 7th May 2023. This is the latest institution to host the exhibition following Quebec and Rotterdam among other cities.

The show is orchestrated by Matthew Yokobosky, senior curator of fashion and material culture at the Brooklyn Museum and Thierry-Maxime Loriot. The spectacular show follows last year’s “Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams” and 2018’s “David Bowie Is,”.

“Mugler was a pioneer when it came to women’s empowerment and diversity, starting in the 1970s,” Curator Thierry Maxime Loriot said.

“Couturissime” explores the life and work of the flamboyant couturier through mixed media display featuring approximately 130 outfits alongside sketches, photographs, videos and scent, with designs created by scenographers Philipp Furhofer and Rodeo FX, a special effects company that produced “Dune” and “Stranger Things”.

Originally a dancer for the Ballet de l’Opéra national du Rhin, Mugler had an intimate understanding of the human form, one that proved pivotal in the creation of his legacy-defining silhouettes. His work was endorsed by celebrities including David Bowie, Madonna and George Michael. In the ’70s, the designer coined his clientele “glamazon” (a conflation of “glamour” and “Amazon”), a fashionable, modern woman whose style had elevated since the hippie codes of the ’60s. Throughout his career, Mugler’s penchant for innovations, be it through boundary-pushing silhouettes or unlikely fabrics (think glass, PVC, vinyl, latex and chrome), set a new tone in fashion via stylized provocation, fembot couture and rewritten codes. In the ’80s and ’90s, he spearheaded the renaissance of haute couture with thought-provoking collections and theatrical presentations, which, to this day, continue to impact fashion’s landscape.

Couturissime also features Mugler’s iconic fashion photography, showcasing works by artists and collaborators including Lillian Bassman, Guy Bourdin, David LaChapelle, Karl Lagerfeld, Sarah Moon, Pierreet Gilles, Herb Ritts and Ellen von Unwerth. The exhibition dedicates a sizable portion to Mugler’s lifelong collaborations with photographer Helmut Newton, specifically with 23 works on view.

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