True Stars
When someone who works in a glittery industry such as fashion dies, it is quite often the case that, no matter how high-profile their work, many people don’t know their name and couldn’t pick them out in a crowd.
In the last few months the industry has lost some very significant players: Louis Vuitton Menswear director, Virgil Abloh, former Vogue editor-at-large, Andre Leon Talley And, just last week, (Manfred) Thierry Mugler.
Mugler, a French designer retired from the label that bore his name in 2002 but continued to design some of the most high-profile red carpet and stage outfits of recent years, worn by stars such as Lady Gaga and Beyoncé,
Cast your mind back to 1993, when Demi Moore wore that black cut-out floor-length gown in the movie Indecent Proposal, the iconic number was designed by Thierry Mugler.
Most recently he was responsible for the latex “wet dress” Kim Kardashian wore To the 2019 Met Gala.
If none of those mentions jogs your memory of the designer, you have likely heard of one of his many perfumes such as Alien or Angel – still the only perfume I know of with notes of melting chocolate.
Thierry Mugler wasn’t a wallflower or a recluse, there are many pictures of him both at his own shows and with the celebrities he dressed at events, but despite his talent and the fact his designs will continue to inspire for years to come, unless you are a keen follower of the business of fashion, you still may not be able to conjure the face to go with his name.
The same may go for Abloh and Talley but that doesn’t diminish the impact they had.
The curse of celebrity culture is we unintentionally attach gravitas to those we recognise. The “stars” are the people whose faces we instantly know. Sadly, talent is no longer the only measure of success.
The more I dwell on this fact, the more repulsed I become at the whole notion of fame and celebrity and its hollow premise.
In a bid to remedy this, I have taken to listening to Desert Island Discs shows featuring individuals whose names I don’t recognise – authors, lawyers, screenwriters.
In here for my small part, I will remember to include names of those behind the scenes, those who create the looks we love.
Today, I mention Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director at Dior and the woman responsible for injecting reliability and feminism into the Parisian Couture House. She’s a star worth Googling.
