As you may have heard Thierry Mugler’s cabaret revue debuted in Paris last Thursday at the Théâtre Comédia. Dancer, fashion designer, costume creator, photographer, and director, in the last few years Manfred Thierry Mugler has been focusing a lot on the creative direction of different shows (including the Cirque de Soleil's "Zumanity").
Mugler Follies promises a wide range of characters and artists, including acrobats, dancers, insect showgirls and Space Age aliens in shiny S&M vinyl skirt ensembles that look as if they were drawn not in a studio on Planet Earth but on a space station on Mars.
Though reviews were mixed, fashion and costume-wise there were some interesting inspirations that obviously referenced Mugler's passion for comic strips, science fiction and futurism, with quite a few hints at Mugler's Spring/Summer 1997 Haute Couture collection and at his classic designs with emphasis on the anatomical outline.
Mugler's S/S 1997 collection featured ant, wasp and insect women ("Insects are armoured and their design is very futuristic," Mugler once stated), plus the occasional alien-looking amazons clad in vinyl suits.
The show "Mugler Follies" reincorporates all these elements with costumes that seem to have a strong derivation from comic books, another obsession of Mugler. The designer often looked at superheroines to give dynamism, movement and energy to his creations.
Looking at the fatal alien Amazons in emerald green and flaming red on the stage of the "Mugler Follies" will make many comic book fans think about Shrinking Violet/Salu Digby from the Legion of Super-Heroes or Phoenix II/Rachel Summer, while his wasp showgirls seem to be crossovers of heroines like Wasp/Janet Van Dyne and Bumbleebee/Karen Beecher-Duncan.
Despite his talent, it may be a challenge for David Koma, appointed in December Mugler Creative Director, to reach such crazy and costumy heights and such comic book excesses.
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