For most of us, the name “Thierry Mugler” is synonymous with one thing: perfume. The Thierry Mugler name on a bottle ensures a passionate following amongst those who have fallen in love with the original Angle Perfume, or any of the subsequent additions to the range. And anyone who uses one of Thierry Mugler’s scents, will be forever glad of the first time they heard his name.
But what about the man behind the legendary perfumes? How did Thierry Mugler become the legendary perfumer he is today, and what does he do when he isn’t creating Angel Perfumes?
Thierry Mugler was born in 1948 in Strasbourg, France. He spent time training and working as a ballet dancer (his first taste of ‘the stage’) and studying design before moving to Paris in 1970, where he began working as a window dresser. This gave him a taste of life within the sphere of fashion design; he was seduced by the industry and began to design his own clothing.
His first range of clothing was launched in 1973 – Café de Paris – and the talent of the relatively young Mugler was immediately recognised. Over the course of the next two decades, Mugler continued designing clothes and developing his reputation throughout Europe and the US. His clothes designs were never ‘safe’, often controversial, and very much ‘of the time’.
As with his clothes, Thierry Mugler’s fashion shows also have a reputation for decadence and showiness. Always eagerly awaited by the fashion press and the mainstream press alike, you can expect to be dazzled and wowed by the designer’s extravagance. One of his recent Tokyo shows attracted a record 13,000 spectators, and his shows have an atmosphere more akin to a major sporting event than a fashion show.
With many young designers citing Thierry Mugler as their inspiration for entering the industry - and a continuing inspiration as his designs never fail to excite – it is clear that his legacy also extends far beyond his own creations.
Thierry Mugler’s penchant for visual flair has also been acknowledged beyond the fashion world. In 1992 he directed the video for George Michael’s Too Funky – a sexual charged caricature of the fashion world. And – if proof were needed that Thierry Mugler is as relevant now as he was 20 years – he was enlisted by Beyonce as the main costume designer for her I Am... Tour.
He has also written two books – Thierry Mugler in 2008, and Fashion Fetish Fantasy. Both consider fashion design and photography, and are studied closely by hopeful fashion designers around the world.
It wasn’t until 1992 - when Thierry Mugler’s status as fashion guru was well established, and he had already branched out into directing and writing - that he elected to branch out into the world of perfume, and the now famous Thierry Mugler Angel scent was launched. It was an immediate hit and - amazingly - still figures on most ‘top 10’ perfume charts almost thirty years later.
There can be no doubt that Thierry Mugler is an extraordinary talent and has been a key player within the fashion and perfume worlds over the last forty years. His range of Thierry Mugler Angel scents is one of the great success stories of the modern age, and will no doubt be his most enduring legacy.
