Thierry Mugler death: Celebrated French fashion designer dies aged 73

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Celebrated French fashion designer Manfred Thierry Mugler died on Sunday (23 January) at the age of 73.

Mugler’s team announced the avant-garde designer’s passing by sharing a black box on his personal social media account late Sunday night.

The caption read: “We are devastated to announce the passing of Mr Manfred Thierry Mugler on Sunday 23 January 2022. May his soul Rest In Peace.”

His agent Jean-Baptiste Rougeot reportedly confirmed that Mugler died from natural causes.

The Independent has reached out to Rougeot for comment.

Celebrities like Bella Hadid, Tracee Ellis Ross, Carla Bruni and Georgia May Jagger mourned Mugler’s passing, remembering him as “a force of creativity and kindness”.

Mugler was born on 21 December 1948 in Strasbourg, France. He moved to Paris when he was 20 and worked as a stylist at various fashion houses before launching his eponymous label in 1974.

A former student at the Opera national du Rhin, Mugler said his background in ballet helped inform his stylistic sensibilities.

“Dancing taught me a lot about posture, the organisation of clothing, the importance of the shoulders, the head carriage, the play and rhythm of the legs,” Mugler has previously said.

He counted David Bowie, Grace Jones and Jerry Hall among his muses and dressed several celebrities, including Bowie for his wedding to supermodel Iman in 1992.

Though he retired from fashion in 2002, Mugler was commissioned to create Cirque du Soleil’s fantastical stage costumes the following year.

He has dressed celebrities like Megan Fox, Lady Gaga, Natalie Portman, Miley Cyrus and Diana Ross over the years.

Notably, Mugler also fashioned costumes for Grammy winner Beyoncé’s 2009 I am... world tour and also designed Kim Kardashian’s 2019 Met Gala “wet dress”.