The Spring/Summer 2026 season marked the highly anticipated debut of Miguel Castro Freitas as Creative Director of Mugler. A Portuguese designer with an impressive background—having worked at Dior, Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Dries Van Noten, and Sportmax—Freitas brings a reputation for precise tailoring, architectural silhouettes, and a refined sense of sensuality. His appointment signaled a new era for Mugler: one that honors the house’s audacious legacy while redefining it for a contemporary audience.
The Setting and Atmosphere
The show unfolded in a stark, industrial underground venue in Paris, creating a raw contrast to the glamour on the runway. This choice immediately set the tone: Mugler would no longer be about excess for its own sake, but about finding beauty and drama within tension—between underground grit and celestial fantasy.
Freitas built the collection around themes of myth and performance. He drew inspiration from showgirls, classic cinema heroines, and figures like Aphrodite and Salome. His vision of the “showgirl” was not just as a spectacle but as a complex character—both powerful and vulnerable. The mood words framing the show were “kitsch glamour,” “poetic camp,” “purist maximalism,” and “stardust.”
Design Highlights
The SS26 collection, titled “Aphrodite Stardust,” revealed Freitas’s ability to merge Mugler’s iconic codes with new subtleties.
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Silhouettes & Tailoring: Structured hourglass shapes, exaggerated shoulders, and cinched waists defined the collection. Even the most theatrical looks were cut with precision, balancing fantasy with discipline.
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Fabrics & Textures: Latex, satin, feathers, and fringe collided with sheer panels, metallic shine, and jewel-like bodices. These materials referenced Mugler’s fetishistic DNA but were elevated with modern softness.
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Color Palette: A base of muted neutrals—stone, beige, and gray—was punctuated with flashes of teal, yellow, and metallics. The restraint allowed dramatic moments to shine more vividly.
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Archival References: Freitas reimagined signature Mugler pieces such as the iconic nipple-tassel dress, corsetry, and feathered showpieces. Rather than copying the archive, he breathed new life into it.
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Sensuality Over “Sexy”: In the studio, Freitas discouraged the word “sexy,” preferring “sensuality.” This shift positioned Mugler less as a label of overt provocation and more as one of complex allure.
Narrative & Impact
The debut was designed as the first part of a trilogy, exploring what Freitas calls “glorified clichés”—symbols of glamour and drama that are universally understood yet reinterpreted through a modern lens.
Critics praised the collection for striking a balance between homage and innovation. While Mugler’s iconic theatricality remained, the designs felt more wearable and relevant for today, bridging the gap between runway spectacle and real-life expression. There was a sense that Freitas had not only respected the house codes but elevated them into something emotionally resonant.
Evolution of the Brand
Under Freitas, Mugler appears to be entering a more mature era. Where the brand in recent years leaned heavily into body-conscious party looks and shock value, this new chapter places equal emphasis on narrative, depth, and emotional texture. The spectacle is still there—latex, feathers, and wings will always belong to Mugler—but they are now framed within a more nuanced vision.
This shift carries significant commercial and cultural implications. By refining the balance between drama and wearability, Mugler can expand its reach while maintaining its edge. The repositioning of “sexy” into “sensuality” signals an alignment with contemporary conversations about empowerment, identity, and inclusivity.
Looking Ahead
The SS26 show has been hailed as a strong reset for Mugler. Freitas’s vision suggests the house will not abandon fantasy but will explore it with greater subtlety, intelligence, and humanity. With his trilogy concept, anticipation is already high for the next chapter.
Mugler has always been about transformation—of bodies, of perceptions, of culture. Under Miguel Castro Freitas, that transformation seems set to become richer, more multidimensional, and deeply in tune with the complexities of modern glamour.
