Thierry Mugler's Cyborg Aesthetic: Fashion, Death, and the Manfred Persona
An article from art press 2 (2012) examines Thierry Mugler's career as the most advanced practitioner of cyborg fashion over three decades. Mugler transformed women into futuristic deities using latex, metal, and PVC, creating exoskeletal garments like the 1992 'Harley Davidson' bustier. His 1992 perfume Angel pioneered edible scents (caramel, chocolate). After closing his couture house in 2002, Mugler re-emerged in 2007 as 'Manfred'—a heavily muscled, tattooed, pierced alter ego with facial implants, effectively merging with his own creations. The article contextualizes this within fashion's historical relationship with death and reproduction, citing theorists like Walter Benjamin and Georg Simmel. It notes Mugler's 2011 choice of sprinter Oscar Pistorius (Blade Runner) as ambassador for A*men fragrance, and his costumes for Madonna's 'Human Nature' video and Cirque du Soleil's 'Zumanity'. Nicola Formichetti later took over the house, dressing Lady Gaga.
Key facts
- Thierry Mugler is described as the most advanced cyborg fashion designer of the last 30 years.
- Mugler debuted in 1970 with a theatrical aesthetic transforming women into insects, robots, and superheroes.
- His 1992 'Harley Davidson' bustier, made of painted Plexiglas, turned the wearer into a motorcycle.
- Angel (1992) was the first perfume to use edible scents like caramel and cacao.
- Mugler closed his couture house in 2002 for financial reasons.
- He re-emerged in 2007 as 'Manfred', a heavily muscled, tattooed, and pierced persona with facial implants.
- In 2011, sprinter Oscar Pistorius became the face of Mugler's A*men fragrance.
- Mugler designed costumes for Madonna's 'Human Nature' video and Cirque du Soleil's 'Zumanity'.
- Nicola Formichetti took over Mugler's house, dressing Lady Gaga.
- The article links fashion to death, citing Walter Benjamin: 'Fashion defends the rights of the corpse over the living.'
Entities
Artists
- Thierry Mugler
- Manfred Mugler
- Hussein Chalayan
- Diana Eng
- Donna Franklin
- Suzanne Lee
- Oscar Pistorius
- Madonna
- Beyoncé
- Sasha Fierce
- Lady Gaga
- Nicola Formichetti
- Jean-Jacques Urcun
- Pierre Aulas
- Emily Albinski
- Audrey Roy
- John L. Nevinson
- Anne Hollander
- Roland Barthes
- Barbara Vinken
- Walter Benjamin
- Georg Simmel
- Danièle Bott
- Michel Pencréac’h
- Rhonda Garelick
- Donna Haraway
- Joseph Roach
- Andrew Bolton
- Jack Lang
- Fausto Caletto
- Suzanne Wangman
- Eric Wilson
Institutions
- art press
- Cirque du Soleil
- Mugler
- Polyvore
- miss Bimbo
- artpress2
- Maison Mugler
- New York Times
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Yale University Press
- Rizzoli
- Editions du Regard
- Thames and Hudson
- Skira
- Berg
- Seuil
- Belknap Press of Harvard University Press
- University of Delaware Press
- Pan-Verlag
- Routledge
- Knopf
- International Quarterly
Locations
- London
- New York
- Las Vegas
- France
- Europe
- Paris
- Australia