THIERRY MUGLER - Couturissime

You've probably heard of Thierry Mugler's exposition at the Museum of Fine Arts - Couturissime, what with Kim Kardashian coming to the opening and all. If you're wondering why it's been such a big deal, it's because this is the first time that his collection has been put on display. Ever. Paris wanted to have this exposition, London wanted it, and many other grand cities- however Mugler chose Montreal to be the location of his worldwide premiere! Montreal's lucky to have something that the others don't. For the first time, 140 of his pieces will be displayed.

Thierry Mugler has been the biggest designer (or more like artist) from the 1970s to the 2000s. He's done much that you may have taken for granted in the fashion industry. For example, he's the one who turned catwalks into what they are today: a themed performance rather than a simple strut down the aisle. He was very progressive when it came to the fabrics he used, in that he never used real fur or exotic leathers! And this was during a time period where wearing real fur was a sign of prestige. Instead, he used feathers to recreate fur and calf leather to recreate exotic leathers (such as croco leather). I got the chance to see these at the expo, and let me tell you, it definitely does the trick. Especially those "fur" coats: holy crap I never would've guessed that they weren't made with real fur!

The exposition was divided into 6 "acts"; each room and the pieces presented in them were like different acts of an opera.

ACT 1: Macbeth

The first act of the exposition is the Macbeth room. Mugler was the one tasked with creating the costumes for the play. He inspired himself with the figures of superheroes: very broad and strong, with narrower waists. This meant he had to create costumes that were bigger than life. This made some of these contraptions rather heavy. One of the costumes even weighed 35kg! Imagine acting while wearing such a heavy costume... hello SWEAT!

Looks heavy... that's cause it is! Here's the 35kg costume

Fun fact: Apparently, as the costumes are pretty big and the dresses have large underskirts, a really strong gust of wind once momentarily lifted the actors off their feet during the play! Honestly that must've been freaking hilarious to watch.

ACT 2: Stage Fashion

This nude dress and green suit were both worn by David Bowie

Mugler rapidly realized that a great way to get his name out was to have celebrities wear his pieces. Hence, after his first runway (which ended with a pregnant Madonna... you can imagine the shitshow that created) he really pushed to have his creations worn by stars. He succeeded, with his work appearing in many famous works and worn by many celebrities such as David Bowie, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé more recently.

His most recently worn pieces exposed at the exhibit were a jumpsuit & matching peacock crinoline, worn by Cardi B at the 2019 Grammy Awards.

Image from Fashion Sizzle

ACT 3: The Black & White Collection

Personally, this was my favorite room although it was the simplest. On the walls were beautiful black and white photographs taken by Helmut Newton and Thierry Mugler himself. In the middle were mannequins, wearing black and white clothes.

These pieces were much more "wearable" when compared to the rest of Mugler's collection: they were black and white suits. They were more of a classic cut/work look, obviously with a twist of Mugler to them.

Honestly if I could've purchased those pieces, I would have. I just loved the hats! I found them original and tastefully made.

Although they'd probably fly right off with just a bit of wind...

ACT 4: Angel

Mugler not only created unique clothing pieces, but also photographs and his very own perfumes. His first and most known perfume is Angel. In this room, two garments used in the promos for Angel as well as different bottles of it are exposed.

Image from Sephora

This perfume was very special at the time, as Mugler absolutely wanted the bottle to be shaped as a star and the liquid to be blue. He also wanted it to have an "edible scent". Hence, it is made with the caramel flavouring found in candies! Sign me the fuck up!

ACT 5: Metamorphosis

This room was really interesting. This is were you got to see his Les Insectes collection, deep sea, leather and Asia inspired clothing.

Headpiece and jacket from the collection "Les Insectes"

In this room is also where you got to see his famous La Chimère gown, with its incredible details and cinched waist. When you'll see it you might wonder how the hell could anyone fit in it. Well, the material is actually very elastic. It manages to fit the wearer's form, while still keeping that general cinched waist look.

ACT 6: Futuristic/FemBot

This room was my least favorite, but not because it didn't have interesting pieces. On the contrary, there were original pieces made with a variety of materials. Corsets made of automobile and boat parts, a dress made of tires, a dress with lights in it, clothes made with metal, etc. It's safe to say that Mugler has used every material imaginable to create his pieces. I guess it was just not my style is all, although I did appreciate the craftsmanship.

A costume designed for Cirque du Soleil

Unfortunately, Mugler has stopped creating for the runways because of social media: within days after he'd reveal his new creations, copies of them would be made and sold all over the world.

The expo will run until September 8, 2019. So no need to rush, ya still got lotssss of time.

Me fighting my way to check out stuff at the expo:

(jk it actually wasn't crowded when I went)