March 7, 2026 |
Miguel Castro Freitas is coming into his own at Mugler. His debut in September was guided by the brand’s penchant for nightcrawler glamour: think latex pencil skirts and sculpted suiting with hour glass waists; femme-fatale fierceness. Since arriving at the house, he’s been thinking about the clichés of power dressing and the pillars of the Mugler empire. For his second outing, Freitas cranked the dial up a notch. He was particularly interested in Manfred Thierry Mugler’s fetishisation of military wear. Today, these uniforms represent corrupt forces causing havoc and upset globally. “Ultimately, this show intends to acknowledge that self-empowerment is the most potent antidote of clarity to the oppressive forces and grey political climate that surrounds us at this very moment,” wrote the designer in his show notes.
And so, his muses came in leather military shirts and jackets with epaulettes stuck to hulking, mega wide ‘80s shoulders. They were cut in pale pink and neon blues and yellows, often worn with razor sharp pencil skirts that gave the look a don’t-mess-with-me attitude. More linebacker proportions could be seen in ace, zig-zag leotards worn over skinny suit trousers and a shimmering frock that swooped around the body before migrating into pleated, narrow hemline. Freitas had everyone from Joan Crawford to the Joan Of Arc on his mood board when envisioning his bad-ass troupe. Their wardrobe, built on severe silhouettes and a glorious bevvy of contrasting hues, made for one of Paris’s showstopper moments. Freitas’ Mugler begins to take shape.
Photography courtesy of Mugler.
