Thierry Mugler exhibition opens in Montreal

The first major exhibition of French designer Thierry Mugler finally hit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts on Saturday.

The world-premiere of Thierry Mugler: Couturissime was celebrated with a VIP opening party on Monday where A-list celebrities were in attendance including the likes of Kim Kardashian and Tara Banks.

The exhibition, on display March 2 to September 8, features some 150 outfits produced between 1977 and 2014, which explore the different artistries of Thierry Mugler, especially his ready-to-wear and haute couture creations, as well as his work as a director, photographer and perfumer.

“People have offered to exhibit my work a number of times, but the idea of simply looking back has never interested me. The MMFA with Nathalie Bondil and Thierry-Maxime Loriot were the right people, with the right approach, to reinvent the past with innovative staging, eclectic melanges and a new vision of my work. There is no future without a past, so I hope that this exhibition will inspire in its visitors a new creative future,” explained the designer.

Mugler is known for his architectural style and bold silhouettes imbued with fantasy. A number of the pieces on display showcase the designer’s avant-garde techniques and materials like glass, plexiglass, PVC, faux fur, vinyl, latex, and chrome.

“Metamorphoses, superheroines and cyborgs inhabit the work of this designer who perceived early on, and with considerable humour, the coming transhumanist revolutions,” said MMFA director general and chief curator Nathalie Bondil.

“His sleek, elegant creatures, his dangerous seductresses, populate a world of glamour at the edges of reality.”

In parallel to Thierry Mugler: Couturissime, the museum is highlighting the work of ten established and emerging designers who are defining current Quebec fashion. The exhibition, dubbed 'Montreal Couture', includes work by Atelier New Regime, Philippe Dubuc, Fecal Matter, Denis Gagnon, Ying Gao, Helmer Joseph, Nathon Kong, Marie-Ève Lecavalier, Markantoine and Marie Saint Pierre.

Boasting more than 1.3 million visitors annually, the MMFA is one of Canada’s most visited museums and the eighth-most visited museum in North America.

Thierry Mugler exhibition opens in Montreal

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