Like good and bad, Eros and Thanatos are two faces of the same coin.
Having therefore explored one of them – Thanatos – in an extremely oppressive way in the first Mugler Menswear show, Creative Director Nicola Formichetti and menswear designer Romain Kremer moved onto Eros, or rather, porn.
Formichetti stated the inspiration for the Mugler menswear S/S 12 collection came indeed from Fellini, Pasolini and Tinto Brass’ Io Caligola (I Caligula, 1979), plus random Greek mythology (even though the only "Greek mythology" he seems to be fluent in is the one from Knights of the Zodiac…).
Cinema fans will probably be cringing at this point since these references show that, rather than looking at the sets and the craftsmanship behind Fellini and Pasolini’s films (yes, even a fantasy of excess such as Fellini’s Satyricon featured some amazing costumes by Danilo Donati…), Formichetti was looking at their most superficial aspects and mixing them with a film that, combining Brass’ porn visions, Bob Guccione’s money and Gore Vidal and Masolino D'Amico’s screenplay (plus a cast that also featured Malcom McDowell and Peter O'Toole), featured an essentially irritating sequel of tortures, beheadings, orgies and other assorted perverse horror scenes.
Now, I’m all in favour of finding great inspirations even in porn magazines, but I find superficiality unnerving.
Besides, you got the feeling that rather than watching Tinto Brass’s porn in its rarest 210 minute-long version, Formichetti watched the 5-minute video of Francesco Vezzoli’s (note for art fans: we are still waiting for a DNA test to confirm he’s the secret son of Miuccia Prada, but we will get that final proof, don't worry…) Trailer for the remake of Gore Vidal's Caligola, with its ultra-kitsch moments and costumes by Donatella Versace.
In a way, despite aiming for futuristic moods, there wasn’t anything extremely new in the collection.
Formichetti’s vision featured golden and silver body armour jewellery (and medals à la Caligula) that called to mind the armours in the Saint Seiya manga, swimwear, nude and beige suits, oversized sheer shirts, cyclist shorts, lurex leggings, stone washed denims and neon green garments and accessories (a reference to Mugler’s "digital green", but not new – think about the neon green creeper shoes popular at the end of the '80s/beginning of the '90s ), cropped jackets and body-tight tops.
The most interesting pieces were maybe the suits with drawstring waists or sliced open at the waist that came in two different fabrics (though, again, they weren't extremely new).
Yet the more you look at the recent Formichetti/Kremer efforts at Mugler and the more you wonder if this label can actually exist without its fragrances and without any theatrics.
While there were echoes of Caligula on the runway, the strongest connection with the film is to be tracked down in a publication, obviously art directed and styled by Formichetti, entitled Brothers of Arcadia and given free at the catwalk show, and in a film shot by Branislav Jankic and posted on XTube, featuring scantily dressed or naked men, lions, ropes, chains and one scene entirely lifted from Pasolini's Arabian Nights (though the video doesn't really grasp anything of Pasolini's vision; as you may guess, it's useless to wonder if more people watched the catwalk show or the x-rated video…)
So Armani was right when a few days ago he stated that the menswear shows have turned into a circus? (Well, I guess also the womenswear shows have turned into a circus…).
He may be right, but what really enrages me is that the "show" counts more than the actual clothes and that fashion companies are keen on splashing their money on instant projects linked to rather bland collections promoted as futuristic works of art or on visually strong yet unsaleable designs.
Apparently this Mugler collection was a "vision for the future" (if there will ever be a future for fashion…) and, for the time being, it’s a vision that many critics and fashion commentators are not keen on attacking because, if you do so, you’re not really part of the cool and trendy elite who "understands" fashion, but you turn into a pariah who’s probably read too much about fashion history, tailoring and design.
Yet I do think that criticising certain collections a bit more could probably push companies and designers to do better.
Azzedine Alaïa attacked in a recent interview Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour and I would love to hear more voices like Alaïa's being raised and more intelligent comments about the current collections.
Otherwise will this be the future or fashion?
And what will be next, Pasolini-meets-Galaxy Express 999-meets-Space Pirate Captain Harlock (with Lady Gaga as Queen Lafresia)?
Stop the fashion train now, I think many of us want to get off.
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