H&M and Mugler have announced their collaboration collection through a high-energy music video that features famous pop stars and models. The collection, which launches in May 2023, has been divided into different categories. The tailoring section includes iconic Mugler pieces, such as LBDs, dressy separates, and crystalized garments. The leathery fashion section focuses on Berlin clubwear and includes best-selling nude-illusion jeans with spiral Lycra inserts. The collection also features a menswear section that includes a lapel-less tailored jacket and a zip-up corsetted hoodie.
A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
H&M’s creative advisor, Ann-Sofie Johansson, said that many young H&M designers have named Mugler as one of the hottest brands around. The company had initiated conversations with the house of Mugler before the death of its founder, Manfred Thierry Mugler, in 2022. Johansson is thrilled about this collaboration as it allows the company to work with both the founder of the house and the new creative force that has brought it to modern times. The collaboration allows Casey Cadwallader, Mugler’s creative director, to directly communicate with H&M’s customers.
THE COLLECTION VIDEO
The collaboration’s video is inclusive in its casting of all genders and identities, sizes, and ages. The video features a high-octane Y2K fashion fantasy that premieres archive looks reissued for the collaboration. The muses wear clothes that have acquired cultural significance in recent years. The collaboration is Cadwallader’s way of waking up Sleeping Beauty and is part of a bigger long-term plan to recharge the brand’s DNA.
THE COLLECTION’S SEGMENTS
The collection’s tailoring section includes a sharply tailored jacket, a zip-up corsetted hoodie, LBDs, dressy separates, and crystalized garments. The leathery fashion section is inspired by Berlin clubwear, which includes the best-selling nude-illusion jeans with spiral Lycra inserts. The collection also features menswear. The items will be merchandised together in the store, speaking to the way Cadwallader thinks about gender.
THE ICONIC CATSUITS
The collection also features Mugler’s iconic catsuits. Cadwallader initially did not plan to include them in the collection but changed his mind after H&M requested them. The collection will offer a bodysuit that will be sold for the first time. The collection is expected to be affordable, allowing a wider audience to experience the Mugler brand. Cadwallader said that he often receives messages on Instagram asking when he will make something that people can afford, and this collaboration is his answer.
THE MUSIC VIDEO
The video, directed by Torso, features a re-record of Stardust’s 1998 “Music Sounds Better With You.” The video also includes famous pop stars and models such as Beyoncé, Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and Cardi B. The video includes everyone from Shygirl, Arca, Amaare, and Eartheater to Sora Choi, Imaan Hammam, and Mariacarla Boscono. The video’s ’80s talk-show sequence features Jerry Hall and Connie Flemin.
