Paris Fashion Week: New visions of glamour from Mugler Schiaparelli and Rick Owens
Thursday in Paris marked a series of significant fashion debuts, featuring Miguel Castro Freitas’ respectful couture interpretation for Mugler, alongside two distinct visions of glamour from American designers Daniel Roseberry of Texas and Rick Owens of California.
The highly anticipated debut by Miguel Castro Freitas at Mugler unfolded in an unexpected setting: an underground parking garage near La République. Despite the utilitarian locale, the collection exuded undeniable glamour. Freitas, who joined Mugler in March as successor to Casey Cadwallader, brought an impressive resume to the house, and his collection reflected influences from his past tenures. Echoes of John Galliano’s fantasy cocktails mingled with the strict tailoring reminiscent of his time at Raf Simons' Dior. Above all, it was a deeply couture-worthy interpretation of Mugler’s legacy, drawing inspiration from Thierry Mugler’s early '90s haute couture explosion and his revolutionary aviary collections from a decade later.
Freitas’ most exquisite pieces paid homage to this avian heritage, featuring beguilingly constructed feathered jackets and skirts, crafted in collaboration with Maison Février, a renowned French feather artisan located above the Moulin Rouge. His skilful draping of second-skin leathers, manifest in ruched cocktails and gowns adorned with leather flowers, conveyed bold drama. Moulded shoulders and necklines that sat artfully off the torso were also prominent, alongside excellent silicon suits featuring exaggerated hips. While a significant presence of beige occasionally hinted at his past work with the Max Mara group, this was expertly balanced by touches of lingerie and transparency, including curtain dresses exposing multiple nipples, ensuring a racy edge. Freitas’ grander aesthetic marked a departure from the S&M obsession that characterised his predecessor's era.
As Mugler is now controlled by beauty giant L’Oréal, its business strategy, like many houses under perfume corporations, prioritizes red carpet appearances, influencer engagement, and editorial coverage over building a substantial ready-to-wear business. In this context, Castro Freitas’ collection, with its inherent drama, polish, and pizzazz, proved exceptionally suitable. The front row underscored its appeal, attracting notable figures such as Naomi Watts, Eva Herzigová, and Pamela Anderson, who sported a striking redhead look.
Rick Owens’ presentations consistently transcend mere clothing displays, evolving into compelling works of performance art. His latest spectacle, held on a cloudy Thursday afternoon, was an epic event. Returning to his preferred stage—the colossal fountain of the Palais de Tokyo—Owens orchestrated a dramatic march as his gaunt, glamorous cast descended a massive metal stairway directly into the water. Dry ice billowed atmospherically, while scores of speakers boomed Basstrologe’s dramatic remix of "Somebody to Love," a powerful ode to loyalty in romance, featuring the magnificent vocals of Grace Slick, the iconic "Acid Queen" and greatest singer from California's psychedelic era, Owens' home state.
The show's location, mere meters from "Temple of Love," the lauded exhibition of Owens’ work currently staged inside the Musée Galliera, underscored its thematic resonance. This collection, like his menswear show in June that initiated the retrospective, was simply titled "Temple." In his program note, Owens articulated his philosophy: "This exhibition tracks the pursuit of glamour and sleaze that I was looking for on Hollywood boulevard, and eventually, improbably, ended up displaying in a Paris Museum. I have always thought of what I do as a fascination with the denseness of European aesthetic sophistication seen through a filter of American bluntness." This bold collection vividly embodied that concept, with sophistication evident in its daring draping, surreally hung frocks, power-shoulder technical organza dresses, and remarkable fabrics like recycled nylon tulle embroidered with sequins, or veg-tanned heavyweight leathers crafted by London designer Straytukay. The "bluntness" manifested in slashed and fringed oversized leather pants, paired with the house’s signature Perspex-heeled jackboots—ideal for both wading through water and stomping to Grace Slick’s iconic anthem.
Daniel Roseberry titled his Spring/Summer 2026 collection for Schiaparelli "Dancer in The Dark," presenting what was arguably his raciest, most after-hours selection of garments to date. Reflecting a new wave of refined sexiness emerging on European runways, Roseberry’s latest ideas felt utterly contemporary. His tailoring was precise and strict, evoking a domineering, authoritative, and powerful female silhouette. Snug, neat mess jackets and pencil skirts, exposing the midriff, tapped into a current fashion rage. Leather second-skin cocktails were either intricately embossed around the bosom or perforated to reveal tantalizing glimpses of flesh. While a series of crushed satin looks momentarily seemed to falter, Roseberry quickly regained his stride with exquisite white transparent jersey creations, styles that founder Elsa Schiaparelli herself would undoubtedly have admired.
Quoting Yves Saint Laurent, who famously described Schiaparelli as “a comet illuminating the Paris skyline, determined to dominate,” Roseberry clearly intends for his clients to achieve a similar commanding presence. This ambition culminated in a hyper-sheer polka-dot chiffon jumpsuit, provocatively worn by Kendall Jenner as she prowled around the after-midnight set. The show was staged on the top floor of the currently under-restoration Pompidou Center, where a twisting black carpet, dramatically illuminated by theatrical floor lighting, imbued the proceedings with a faintly diabolical—and ultimately captivating—air.
