L'HISTOIRE: Thierry Mugler's Outrageously Elaborate Fall 1995 Couture Show
The 300-look show lasted an hour and even featured a surprise James Brown performance. Celebrities like Zendaya and Cardi B reference its looks to this day.
L'HISTOIRE explores fashion history moments you should know, from what actors wore on a red carpet to celebrities who made cameos on the runway. Some are unsung, and some are better known. Each is part of the fabric of today’s fashion world, be it barrier breakers or culture makers.
Manfred Thierry Mugler is and was a legend in all fashion realms. The late designer let his imagination run wild, conceiving some of fashion's most canonical shows, including the runway he hosted to celebrate 20 years of his brand. Its vivacious energy and innovative clothes are what made Mugler's Fall 1995 Couture reveal such a cultural and sartorial uproar.
The collection boasted an incredulous 300 looks. Male go-go dancers energized the show on the sides of the runway. James Brown gave a surprise performance of his greatest hits. Held at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, it was an hour long ordeal. (The average runway show that lasts around 15 minutes.) On the runway, Mugler brought out some of his earliest models like Carmen Dell'Orefice, Veruschka von Lehndorff, and muse Jerry Hall. He also brought in supermodels like Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Karen Mulder, and Eva Herzigova, to name a few. The 20th anniversary show is for the history books.
The show opened with a group of women walking in unison down the runway as they reached the end, and once they arrived, they'd each take off their coats to reveal an outfit under. Elsewhere, a model even took out a cigar and started smoking it as she strutted the catwalk. Being a Mugler runway, models added lots of personality to their walks, whether being extremely fierce, dancing, or in some cases, coyly undressing. It was a show with pizazz and drama, and it contrasted that time of fashion where minimalism was standard. The show represented going against the norm and embracing your individuality, which Mugler always embraced and encouraged.
This show debuted the "Birth of Venus," worn by Simonetta Gianfelici, which is an all-around stunning dress made of two parts that serves as a sartorial ode to Sandro Botticelli’s 15th century painting of the same name. (Cardi B wore the dress 24 years later at the Grammys.) Elsewhere, there were women wearing black sheer unitards with voluminous maxi skirts resembling tulips. Skirts added to the already fantasy-like show, along with the various other characters that came down the runway, like Veruschka's, who's body was completely painted in blue and white, wore only a corset and beaded, sculptural accessory.
Mugler's designs are often sculptural pieces that embody personalities or ideas that the wearer takes on as they wear the garments. His pieces reflect that of characters of his mind that he decides to make tangible and real. One of his most famous garments, the Fembot, worn by German supermodel Nadja Auermann, is still top of mind to this day. It represents Mugler's love of sci-fi, and most recently, Zendaya wore it on a red carpet for her 2024 Dune: Part Two press tour.
For the Fall 1995 Couture show, Mugler (who passed away in 2022) featured his Angel perfume star-logo in the background.
Imagine being in a room where James Brown is singing "Sex Machine" while confetti is twirling from the ceiling in an already-iconic Parisian location. The best of the best models are performing wearing none other than one of the best designers of the epoch. This show continues to be one of the greatest of all time. Looks in the collection ranged from traditional to surreal, and they live on today, whether on Zendaya, Kylie Jenner or Cardi B. The Mugler party never stops.
