@thierrymugler_archives chronicles the most ‘Mugler-esque’ moments in the history of his memorable oeuvre
Fêted designer Manfred Thierry Mugler once said of his work: “I made clothes because I was looking for something that didn’t exist; I had to try to create my own world”. He succeeded in this – Mugler’s oeuvre, characterised by preternatural fantasy and exquisite craftsmanship, is one that stands as truly original.
It was only a matter of time before someone began to chronicle this unique history on Instagram. “I started the account in December 2016 because he was simply one of my favourite designers and he didn’t have an Instagram account at the time,” explains Anna Reinherz, founder of @thierry_muglerarchives. “I’m a fashion student at LA’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and I had a huge backlog of images because I frequently go through the archives in my library at school and there is a huge one of Mugler’s work. So I started the account for fun and it went from there really!”
When Monsieur Mugler eventually joined the social media platform in 2017, unsurprisingly amassing over 50,000 followers in a very short space of time, Reinherz soon received a notification stating: ‘@manfredthierrymugler started following you’. “It was really exciting,” she says. “At the time he had literally just made his Instagram and I was so pumped that he was even on there at all.” Since then, the designer has been an avid ‘liker’ of the images of his work that she uploads frequently to the account – and it isn’t difficult to see why.
Focussing on the height of Thierry Mugler’s career – the 1970s to the mid-1990s – Reinherz aims to represent the codes of his universe in the truest sense. “I particularly loved the way he looked – and still looks – at women as superheroes,” she continues. “I definitely have specific models I really love to post that he worked with – Pat Cleveland, for example. Aside from that, I have specific shows that I go to often – the mid-80s shows in particular. It’s always the most outrageous things I can find that I choose.”
“I just don’t think there is ever going to be anything quite like it again,” Reinherz says of the Mugler era. “I wanted this Instagram account to speak to anyone who has an interest in fashion, but I would love it if people who were younger than me would follow it and really get to know this part of history. It’s so important for young creatives to look at context.”
At the end of last year it was announced that a retrospective exhibition titled Thierry Mugler: Beyond Couture would be arriving at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in March 2019, before touring Europe and selected cities around the world. Placing Mugler alongside Yves Saint Laurent and Jean Paul Gaultier, the work of whom the MMFA has also showcased, the French designer’s moment in the spotlight has been long overdue. Until then, we highly recommend following @thierry_muglerarchives for your fix of all things Mugler-esque.