You're Going to Want a Piece of the Mugler H&M Collaboration

NEW YORK—Celebrities, infuencers, content creators, and fans came together for the launch of one of the most highly anticipated fashion collaborations in recent memory at the Park Avenue Armory here on Wednesday night (Thursday in Manila). The venue was packed with fashionistas in their red carpet and runway best as models strutted wearing key pieces from the collections interspersed with musical performances from artists Shygirl, Amaare, and Eartheater. 

Celebrities spotted at the event and who donned pieces from the collection include Pamela Anderson, Charli XCX, Chloë Sevigny, Lourdes Leon and Dominique Jackson.

The Philippines was represented by actress and entertainment personality Liza Soberano, who was one of the global VIPs H&M flew into the city not only to attend the event but to model the outfits that will be made available to the general public on May 11, 2023.

Liza Soberano attends the global launch of the Mugler x H&M collab in New York

Photo by HM.

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The Mugler x H&M collection, featuring the innovative, eye-catching designs of creative director Casey Cadwallader, was first announced in February this year, but had been in the works for some time. In fact, the founder of the brand, Frenchman Thierry Manfred Mugler, had signed off on the collaboration and had reportedly been excited about it, until his untimely passing one year earlier, in February 2022.

Photo by HM.

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In a special in-person media session attended by fashion and lifestyle press from around the world, including Esquire Philippines, Cadwallader and H&M’s head designer Ann-Sofie talked about the beginnings of the collaboration and how it all came together.

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“We had a list of designers we wanted to work with, and Mugler was definitely in it,” Ann-Sofie said. “Our customers really love (collaborations). And each time we do it, we always ask ourselves, how can we make it exciting? I think it is about giving our customers something to buy into, no matter the size of the wallet. 

“It’s also about doing something together that we might not have been able to do separately,” she added. 

For Cadwallader, the pieces in the H&M collaboration represents designs that closely mirrors the ones he’s done for his main collection for Mugler.

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“I think for me, coming into the project, I really wanted to make sure that what came out was super representative of the designs, so that there would be a chance for more people…wear Mugler for the first time,” the designer said. “That impression was really important to me, and I wanted to hold that up. And H&M was 100 percent behind that.”

Cadwallader said he was inspired by the spirit of ethos of Mugler, which is all about offering something unique to people. He said it was about pieces that were edgy and sexy but were also wearable and light. 

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The womenswear collection includes leather jackets and a leather trench coat with an elongated scarf detailing, dresses with decadent embellishments, and strong tailoring, which can be paired with illusion catsuits, leggings, or cut-out bodysuits. For the men, there is a variety of pieces in leather—including trousers, blazers, and a trench coat with engraved buttons—as well as denim, featured in a sculpted jacket with padding that accentuates the form.

But Cadwallader was quick to point out that gender was not a primary consideration in the collection.

“I mean, I definitely don't see gender in it,” Cadwallader said. “It's about a range. I mean that even in myself. I think what we're trying to do here is really using a lot of the humanism associated with menswear. So the collection is presented all together in the store and the women are welcome to shop at whichever part they want to shop. At the end of the day, a woman loves baggy jeans and so does a man, and sometimes a man wants a skirt or whatever.

It's all going to fit.”

Photo by HM.

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The Mugler x H&M collection is the latest in a series of designer collaborations the Swedish fast fashion retailer has presented to its customers. Past designers and brands it has worked with include Karl Lagerfeld (the first one in 2004), Versace, Commes Des Garcons, and Gimabattista Valli.

The Mugler x H&M collection will be available in H&M stores globally on May 11, 2023.