The legendary fashion designer Thierry Mugler has died at the age of 73.
His death was announced on his official Instagram account on Sunday evening.
“We are devastated to announce the passing of Mr Manfred Thierry Mugler on Sunday January 23rd 2022. May his soul Rest In Peace,” the statement read.
His agent told AFP news agency that he died of natural causes.
The French designer worked with a huge array of A-list stars throughout his career, including Madonna, Beyonce, George Michael, Diana Ross, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Reese Witherspoon and Bella Hadid.
His friendship with David Bowie led to him designing the late British musician’s outfit for his wedding to his wife Iman.
Kim Kardashian famously wore one of his eye-catching creations - a skin tight latex dress that was made to look like she was dripping wet - to the Met Gala in 2019.
Born in Strasbourg, France in 1948, he was a talented performer from a young age, joining the Ballet du Rhin by the time he was 14 years old. He was also an acrobat and fashion model.
Thierry moved to Paris when he was 24 and opened his first boutique in 1978.
He rose to fame in the 80s and 90s thanks to his exaggerated, glamorous looks featuring sharp tailoring and theatrical designs with over accentuated features such as hips and shoulders, with plunging necklines and constricted waists.
The use of plastic-like futuristic fabric in his sculpted clothing became a trademark, at times resembling robotic suits with protruding cone shapes.
“I’ve always felt like a director, and the clothes I did were a direction of the everyday,” he once told Interview Magazine.
He retired from the fashion industry in 2003 but still worked on individual projects such as Kim K’s Met Gala dress, and he was also Beyonce’s artistic director on her 2009 world tour.
Beyonce paid tribute the designer on her official website shortly after his death was announced.
Sharing a black and white image of a smiling Thierry, it was simply captioned, “Rest in peace”.
Other stars from the fashion and entertainment world have also paid tribute...
Thierry’s fragrances, which include the hugely successful Angel and Alien range of scents, continue to sell around the world.
He sold the rights to his name to Clarins in 1997, several years after launching the Angel perfume.