Celebrities across the fashion and arts industries have shared tributes to French designer Manfred Thierry Mugler, who died on Jan. 23 at age 73.
Mugler was best known for his daring and structured designs, which came to define the “power dressing” movement of the '80s.
He retired from his Mugler fashion label in 2002, stepping back to focus his attention on costume design and fragrances. After moving away from fashion, he went back to using his birth name, Manfred.
Mugler worked with the likes of David Bowie, George Michael, and Diana Ross. As well as creating iconic performance looks for Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, he was also behind some major red carpet moments, including Kim Kardashian’s famous “wet look” gown for the Met Gala in 2019.
Mugler’s death was announced in a post to his personal Instagram account on Sunday.
“We are devastated to announce the passing of Mr Manfred Thierry Mugler on Sunday January 23rd 2022,” the statement read. “May his soul Rest In Peace.”
His agent told AFP News Agency that he died of “natural causes” and added that the designer had been set to announce new collaborations this week.
Leading tributes from the world of music, Beyoncé honored the late designer on her website.
Beyoncè has worn many of Mugler's designs over the course of her career, and in the late 2000s commissioned the designer to exclusively create her Sasha Fierce performance looks.
On her personal website, Beyoncé shared a collage of her various Mugler looks beneath a black-and-white photograph of the designer. “Rest In Peace Thierry Mugler,” the accompanying words read.
Fellow music icon Diana Ross — who famously walked in several Mugler runway shows and wore many of his designs in the '80s and '90s — mourned the loss of her friend and collaborator on Twitter.
“I will miss you Thierry Mugler this was a wonderful time in our lives,” she wrote beside a photograph of them, which appeared to have been taken at a Mugler runway show in 1991.
Her daughter Tracee Ellis Ross paid tribute to the designer on Instagram with a sweet clip of her and her mother sharing the Mugler runway in the early ‘90s.
“I had the honor of walking for @muglerofficial twice: 1991 & 1992. When I was 18 then 19 years old,” Tracee wrote. “I desperately wanted to be a model. But, Super Model-dom was way out of my reach until my mother got a phone call from the incredible @manfredthierrymugler. My mother agreed to walk in the show as long as they allowed me to model in the show as well.”
“Thierry Mugler was a defining force in fashion. Even his archive collection today seems futuristic,” she added. “What an honor it is to have a small piece history with a true fashion icon. Rest In Peace, Manfred Thierry Mugler.”
In more recent years, Mugler worked closely with the likes of Cardi B and Irina Shayk, both of whom accompanied the designer to the grand opening of his fashion archive exhibition — Thierry Mugler: Couturissime — in Paris last Fall.
Sharing photographs from that night, Irina paid tribute to her friend on Instagram, writing: “Gone too soon. God of fashion .. a rarely REAL, kindness , sweetest .. u ll be always missed by your Russian.”
Other models who worked alongside Mugler during his decadeslong career, including Bella Hadid, Coco Rocha, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Heidi Klum, Carla Bruni, and Brigitte Nielsen, also penned tributes to the designer on Instagram.
Despite Mugler’s decision to step away from his fashion label in 2002, the brand made a triumphant comeback in 2010 with David Koma at the helm. Koma retired from the brand seven years later, and it was subsequently announced that American designer Casey Cadwallader would be filling the role.
Paying tribute to his predecessor in a heartfelt Instagram post, Casey said that he carries Mugler’s legacy in all he does.
“Manfred, I am so honored to have known you and to work within your beautiful world. You changed our perception of beauty, of confidence, of representation and self empowerment,” he wrote beside an old black-and-white photograph of the designer. “Your legacy is something I carry with me in everything I do. Thank you.”
Fellow designers including Kim Jones, Marc Jacobs, and Christian Siriano followed suit with their own social media tributes, and — like many — spoke of Mugler’s trailblazing work.
One of Mugler’s most memorable creations in recent years was Kim Kardashian’s 2019 Met Gala look. He came out of retirement to design the dress especially for Kim, which marked his first House of Mugler design in two decades.
The waist-snatching latex dress — which was dripped in crystals to emulate a “wet look” — took eight months to create and was inspired by photographs of Sophia Loren in the 1957 movie Boy on a Dolphin.
Since then, Kim has worn several looks from Mugler's archive.
Kim has yet to address Mugler's death. However, her sister Kourtney Kardashian shared a photograph from a 2019 CR Fashion Book shoot in which she, Kim, Khloé Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kylie Jenner, and their mother, Kris Jenner, all wore Mugler designs.
“ALL IN MUGLER,” Kourtney wrote on her Instagram story, adding a brokenhearted emoji. Both Kris and Khloé reposted the picture, paying their own respects to the late designer.
