The showgirl’s tale as told by Mugler in its SS26 collection Miguel Castro Freitas’ debut for the brand unfolded in feathers, vinyl, and latex

Gia Coppola was right: it is time for the spotlight to fall with a little more insistence on the figure of the showgirl. At least this is what Miguel Castro Freitas, the new artistic director of Maison Mugler, believes, as he made his grand debut yesterday with Stardust Aphrodite, a SS26 collection that was nothing short of fantastical. With muses like Aphrodite, Salome, Lili Marlene and even Pamela Anderson’s Last Show Girl, Castro Freitas indeed pulled out all the stops to show the world his vision of Mugler. A playful Mugler, always theatrical, and assuredly glamorous. In a Paris underground parking lot turned into a mini Las Vegas and before the eyes of show icons such as Elizabeth Berkley, the original showgirl, the show opened with a flurry of monochrome dancers appearing to belong to the same troupe, a united troupe, confident, knowing their choreography.

For Castro Freitas, Hollywood glamour is not just glitter and opulence, it is androgynous, sometimes even fetishistic, and unfolds through contrasting yet complementary textures, such as feathers, satin, latex and fur, but also through skin. Nudity is not taboo, it expresses, it tells, as shown by certain silhouettes like a black dress made of fine fringes that fail to cover the model’s chest, or another in a flesh color decorated with silver stars, starting not from the neck but from the nipples of the wearer. Two crucial silhouettes of the collection which, however, are at odds with most of the other looks, mainly composed of covering ensembles with marked waists and ample hips, long trenches and well-tailored jackets with voluminous shoulders. Vinyl skirts and trousers, meanwhile, are mostly low-rise and padded, thus playing with volume, always in contrast with the bare and authentic bodies of the models glimpsed in the rest of the looks.

Amid this multitude of very different looks, one element remains constant: direct references to the House and its heritage. A nod found both in the theme (considering Thierry Mugler and his passion for blending fashion and entertainment, notably through his cabaret revue Mugler Follies) and in its execution. One of the most obvious examples is the 16th look of the collection, consisting of a long-sleeved, high-neck top entirely made of feathers that directly recalls one of the House’s most iconic pieces, La Chimère, featured in its Haute Couture SS97 collection, while the hourglass silhouettes and their color palette of a nearly flesh-toned beige recall the founder’s Insects collection, also presented in 1997 for spring-summer.

Shortly before his debut, Castro Freitas had already honored the House’s archives with a capsule collection that had shone on the backs of Cardi B and Kim Kardashian. The designer therefore seems to have understood the mission entrusted to him by Maison Mugler. Yet, while everything seems perfect on paper, we regret to observe that the aesthetic somewhat takes a back seat, threatening desirability and interest. Mixed beginnings, then, for Castro Freitas and his first collection, which struggles to convince us, even though it is obvious that significant research and study went into it beforehand. However, the foundation remains solid, as does the intention. There is no doubt that the designer will know how to use this foundation and the fertile ground at his disposal wisely in his upcoming collections.