French designer Thierry Mugler honored at Intimate Funeral in Paris – WWD

PARIS – An intimate church service was held in Paris on Friday to celebrate the life of legendary fashion designer Manfred Thierry Muglerpassed away January 23 at the age of 73.

The senders were greeted by MuglerHis brother Gerard Mugler and partner Krzysztof Leon Dziemaszkiewicz, who, along with Mugler creative director Casey Cadwallader, Mugler global president Sandrine Groslier, L’Oréal global division president Cyril Chapuy and former culture minister Jack Lang, with friends Chantal Thomass and Ashley Scott .

“We have been friends for a long time. We met when I was just starting out in fashion and he was just starting out. We made so many memories together, we traveled together, we went on vacation together. It was a time when we were together – the 80s – when all the designers were friends and Thierry was one of my best friends,” Thomass told WWD. “The ceremony went very well, very emotional and really nice. It was an emotional impression, just perfect. ”

“Of course it is an incredible sadness but also a shared pride to be able to walk with him through some of the phases of our lives. I am truly honored to share with everyone my tribute to Monsieur Mugler and I know and feel that people can add more of their own stories to it,” said Groslier, who spoke at the event. ceremony. “In that atmosphere, I could also feel the spirit of a vast Mugler family, who had just lost their dear father and were still not ready to let him go.”

White hydrangeas line the grand steps of the 500-year-old church next to a framed portrait of a young Mugler, and the church organ plays selections from “The Photographer” and “Echorus” by American composer Philip Glass. The service was chaired by two female pastors, and reads from the books of Ezekiel and Mark along with music by Erik Satie and Handel. He was laid to rest in an unadorned pine coffin.

Private services are billed as a “thanksgiving to life” at the historic Laboratory of the Evangelical Louvre in central Paris, and theatrical moments are left to weather.

“It was a moment. I feel like I want to let it be his day,” Cadwallader said of mixed feelings.

Just as the church bells rang at 11:03 a.m., the rain began to fall, but the sky cleared as the guests left the service with the boisterous song “Get Up I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine” by James Brown playing. on the peaceful Rue Saint-Honoré.

“This day will stay in my mind forever. So many emotions, so many tears were shed and shared with Monsieur Mugler’s brother Gerard and his life partner Leon,” Groslier said, adding that the ending song sums it up. his. “For Monsieur, Mugler Life has always been a show. He left on arrival, with a bang! ”

Mugler was born in Strasbourg, France and started as a ballet dancer before moving on to a career as a designer, director, photographer and perfumer. He began his fashion career in London in the 1960s, and returned to Paris to establish his own label in 1974. His bold designs and artistry defined the 80s era. of supermodels, when he popularized fashion as a theater by opening shows to the public.

He revolutionized the perfume industry with the release of his iconic Angel fragrance in 1992 and directed music videos including “Freedom! ’90’ before retiring from fashion in 2002.

Diana Ross, Jerry Hall and Tippi Hedren are some of the celebrities he worked with during his heyday, and he’s been rediscovered by the current generation after designing the “wet dress.” by Kim Kardashian West for the 2019 Met Gala. Celebrities including Cardi B, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé embraced his experimental, structured look.

The designer is the subject of a career retrospective titled “Thierry Mugler: Couturissime” at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which opens in September with one of fashion week’s biggest parties. In contrast, the small Friday ceremony brings together only close friends and family by invitation.

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French designer Manfred Thierry Mugler dies aged 73