043 Casey Cadwallader - Mugler's Man with a Mission
Casey Cadwallader is a man with a mission. As the artistic director of Mugler, he is building the brand for a new generation of women and showing the world how sexy, sensual and strong clothing can also be very inclusive. Already he has generated quite a buzz around his runway casting which has included models of all shapes, sizes, ages and colors. Having singer Cardi B sit front and center at his first show helped set the tone for this new era at the house. A house that has struggled, until now, to find a designer with a clear enough vision to take on the potent DNA of the brand and reinterpret it in a modern way for women living in the body-positive, female empowerment, post #Metoo age. Born in New Hampshire, Casey studied architecture at Cornell University before landing an internship at Marc Jacobs that sent him on a whole different career path. From there he progressed to become Narciso Rodriguez’s right-hand man, was the head of womenswear at Loewe and most recently was designing at Acne Studio before taking on the top spot at Mugler. Since he arrived at the house in 2017, Casey has presented collection after collection of body con ensembles, cut with a scalpel tailored suiting and second-skin dresses that hug the body in all the right ways. Casey says that he looks to both haute couture and strippers to guide his design aesthetic. I met up with Casey right before the latest Fall/Winter 2020 shows were about to take place in Paris. We spoke about a wide range of topics in his office at his headquarters, which is just steps away from the famed Opera Garnier. Everything from the origins of his name, the fashion dos and don’ts that his expansive career has taught him over the years and, perhaps most importantly, how he now intends to refocus the Mugler house into a brand where creativity and bold ideas lead the way. After our discussion, what I came away with from our time together is that Casey is that rare self-aware designer who has a head for business, an innovative heart and a soul that sings with creativity.