JOANNE Watkinson
LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE REAL STARS
When someone in a glittering industry such as fashion dies, it is 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 significant players: Louis Vuitton Menswear director, Virgil Abloh, former Vogue editor-atlarge, Andre Leon Talley and, last week, (Manfred) Thierry Mugler.
The 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 Indecent Proposal – the iconic number was designed by Thierry.
More recent was the latex “wet dress” Kim Kardashian wore to the 2019 Met Gala.
If none of those jog your memory, you have likely heard 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 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 fashion business, 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.
Sadly, talent is no longer the only measure of success.
The more I dwell on this fact, the more repulsed I am at the idea of fame and celebrity and its hollow premise.
To remedy this, I now listen to Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, which often features people whose names I don’t recognise – authors, lawyers, screenwriters.
In here, for my small part, I will include the names of those behind the scenes who create the looks we love.
Today, it’s 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.