Mugler's Catsuit in an empowerment uniform

Celebs and influencers have a new uniform: Mugler catsuits. After the Miu Miu set mania, the fashion obsession of the moment is Casey Cadwallader's creations, with their alternating jersey and mesh panels, a game of solids and voids, leather and voile, that reveal the body and its curves. One of the first to fall in love with them was Dua Lipa, who has sported several versions since 2017, ever since the American designer took the reins of the Maison, modernizing the brand's image to connect it with contemporary taste. The most precious one? The one chosen for the Studio 2054 digital show, decorated with 120,000 teardrop crystals that swung with every movement of the pop star. Many have followed the example of the Future Nostalgia singer, daring with the skintight item: Beyoncé on the cover of Vogue; Doja Cat in one of her videos for Streets; Megan Thee Stallion in the WAP video; Kali Uchis at the Grammys; Lourdes Leon and Bella Hadid on the catwalk; Miley Cyrus at the I Heart Festival. Chiara Ferragni paired it with '90s make-up and ultra-straight, long hair during Paris' Haute Couture week and has repurposed it in recent days, posting a picture of her back highlighting the curvaceous silhouette accentuated by the catsuit and accompanied it by the word backstage hinting at a possible future collaboration between the queen of influencers and the French brand. 

The catsuit, in itself is certainly not an easy garment to show off, much less the one signed by Mugler that adds cut-out details to a very tight silhouette. Those who choose to wear it do so as a statement of empowerment, independence and self-confidence. For Billie Eilish it was the garment that accompanied her in the famous and much-criticized photo shoot that marked the growth of her artistic image from a young girl to a woman; when the French Yseult singer showed up at the Victoires de la Musique Award ceremony (the French equivalent of the Grammys) swaddled in a black catsuit by Mugler she said she felt empowered, sexy, after years of looking at her body with disgust and bitterness. An ostentatious yet revolutionary garment, the catsuit uncovers, bares while covering as Casey Cadwallader says, referring to her creation with clear praise for Thierry Mugler's work in transforming the female body:

"The bodysuit and what it represents is powerful. People realize how relevant it is: to be really open, to embrace diversity, to embrace different gender expressions. [Bodysuits and catsuits] have this duality: they cover the whole body, from fingertips to toes, and yet they show everything. Ultimately, it is the body that creates the look."  

This aspect where it is the body that creates the look and not the garment is interesting when compared to Miu Miu's micro-mini phenomenon that has been all the rage this reverse fall or Demna Gvasalia's total black catsuit. Both garments overlap with the identity of the artist wearing them, becoming an element of status representation and participation in the storytelling of a brand and what it embodies, sacrificing personal style. Cadwallader's catsuit in comparison adds to the identity of the wearer, still characterizing the character as one of the chosen ones to wear the garment but without overpowering its presence. In the fashion scenario, catsuits are still a trendy garment for FW 22 where on the catwalks, from Saint Laurent to Richard Quinn and Marine Serre, had already predicted that catsuits would be among the trends of 2022, and they were right to interpret them through experiments with fluorescent colors and materials such as lace or crochet, that may perhaps transport itself to the street styles of the upcoming Fashion Week FW23. With no limits related to seasonality, gender or size, catsuits are still an invitation to dare, to shout to the world that there are different bodies and they all have the right to be celebrated and exhibited.