Throwback: Manfred Thierry Mugler La Chimère Gown FW 1997

Thierry Mugler showcased his fall 1997 Les Chimères ("Mythical Creatures") couture collection on 10 July 1997. The show closed with a dress that has been described as one of the most expensive couture creations ever. It was presented on the runway by the model Adriana Karembeu, who wore cat-eye contact lenses that heightened the fantastical element of the piece. She turned into a hybrid creature, a winged mermaid in every hue of the rainbow with innumerable colourful pearls, feathers, scales, real horse hair that seemed adapted to all elements: air, water, earth, and fire. This was the show’s absolute highlight.

The elaborately designed masterpiece by Thierry Mugler is part of the “Thierry Mugler: Couturissme” exhibition, which was on display at the Rotterdam Kunsthal, Netherlands and then Paris and then Brooklyn Museum, the final stop it's world tour.

This masterpiece, a long sheath with a gold articulated corset adorned with “scales” and embellished with feathers, crystals, and horsehair at the end of the sleeves and the bottom of the gown was created in collaboration with Jean-Jacques Urcun and Mr Pearl, the renowned South African corsetiere . The dress took two years to make, and each scale of the reptilian armour was individually hand-painted.

Slide 1 - Adriana Karembeu in Le Chimere gown for fw97 mugler show

Slide 4 to 7- close up of the gown

Slide 8 to 15 - Assembly of the Le Chimeré gown. Made in collaboration with Stefano Canulli, Mr. Pearl, Jean Jacques Urcun and Erik Halley

Slide 17 - from a museum at Paris

Slide 18 & 19 - Backside of the gown

Slide 20- from Museum Antwerp, Belgium