There was traffic stopping colourways, silhouettes and cunning concealments with frank flashes of skin at David Koma’s Mugler this season in Paris, where the creative director staged a militant account of daring martial chic duds. From naval stylings to desert trooper dynamics, Koma’s latest Mugler woman was built around strength, as she should be.
Thick leather, as scant in thigh-grazing trenches and itsy-bitsy two pieces as it seemed, was her armour and as the collection progressed it all took on some rather bold Barbarella-esque features, with clunky heavy-duty fastenings synching together fabric.
Elsewhere, many of the same Koma nuts-and-bolts staples dominated over the Mugler woman that should rightfully dominate beyond the clothing she adopts, however, some looks, such as the continuous leather dress disjointed by a single hardware divider situated just above the mid-drift had Mugler sass down to a tee.
These looks pervaded, appearing in khaki olive hues and significantly less incognito fiery shades of coral which resulted in some all in one body-con pieces that catered for a powerful shape from the shoulders and décolletage all the way down to the ankles.
Koma’s approach showed less inhibition than ever before this season and despite some of the same popping up again, the bulk of SS16 was tailor-made for the Mugler woman who will always be the Mugler woman. Then again, perhaps that’s just because militant moods are so strong right now on the Paris fashion scene, next season it would be a delight to witness Koma discovering some different sides of his Mugler woman and not just her scantily clad abdomen.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Mugler