Manfred Thierry Mugler was one of Tia Adeola’s enduring inspirations, and she paid tribute to his legacy in her spring 2023 collection. She has always pictured herself as a “burgeoning couture designer,” according to her exhibition notes, and she appreciates cinema noir in the same manner that Mugler does.
The tone for Adeola’s collection was set by a solo dance performance, a voiceover by Nina Simone. She concentrated more on textile manipulations this season than she has in the past, which narrowed her selection. Her body-con shapes hugged as intended when she employed knitted materials and stretchy textiles, which helped the collection seem its most realistic.
Although Adeola claimed that the couturier’s chiffon pieces were some of her key influences, the embroidered fabrics were clearly inspired by Mugler. She sought to imitate the way Mugler cut to emphasize a woman’s figure and emphasize her curves.
Menswear styles were also featured in the presentation, albeit they didn’t quite fit in with the theme. The most intriguing piece was a modernized version of a vintage ribbed tank top made of a finely knit ribbed fabric; finding more items like this might help better integrate both channels. You’ll recognize a picture of Black Jesus on a sweatshirt as some religious symbolism she also incorporated. This, according to her, was a reference to the white Jesus print that appeared in her fall 2019 collection. She chose to repeat the concept after doing some research over the previous few years.
COLLECTION
Photo: Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com
