Highlight: MUGLER by Nicola Formichetti at the Audi Fashion Festival 2012!

Charted at the top of the list of show in this year’s edition of Audi Fashion Festival 2012 is none other than the Opening Show by French designer, MUGLER Autumn/Winter 2012 show last Wednesday at the Tent@Orchard, which had everyone gearing and talking about this exhilarating showcase ever since news of it was announced! (The whole twittersphere were practically raving about it, and we were guilty of that too!).

This is especially so with the helming of the brand by Creative Director, Nicola Formichetti (who is best known for his mastery in concocting and styling Lady Gaga‘s showstopping wardrobe), as well as designer Sebastian Peigne, who is responsible for the brand’s womenswear line, both of whom were here in Singapore to grace the show.

Although this collection has already been shown previously at Paris Fashion Week early this year, a full house of star-studded guests, such as Tallulah Harlech (daughter of Karl Lagerfeld’s muse, Lady Amanda Harlech), Dr Georgia Lee, AFF Festival Chairman, Dick Lee, David Gan, Ashley Isham, to name a few, all turned up for the show dressed in their best, ready to embrace and see for themselves the sheer mastery of fashion by Nicola Formichetti.

The momentum clearly built up to the max, despite a long wait for the show to start. And it was no doubt a defining moment when the show finally opened slowly to a surreal tune, and had models strolling down the stage in pure, serene white looks in complete fur, sweeping fringe elements beneath skirt slits and structured peplums, all built on the foundation of structure silhouettes. It was almost like we were transported to a winter wonderland!

Then, within a few minutes, the collection quickly transitioned into a dynamic array of vibrant streamlined coats, dresses and pants suits (think striking reds, yellows and orange!), all in ‘anatomical’ shapes, which are perfect for a strong, sleek and confident look!

On top of that, mandarin collars and precise cut-outs were also spotted on these dresses!

And of course, what is Mugler without the dramatics and theatricality, in the form of black fur, sheers, leather, latex? This segment is no doubt my favorite moment of the show, where nothing was predictable at all, simply true to the Mugler style.

First came a very exaggeratedly-shouldered skin-tight dress, that seems to reflect the bone anatomy of a human in 2D form, then followed by a full-on black fur coated look. It was clearly the most exhilarating moment when the head-to-toe engineered leather looks, especially the ruffled leather jackets, emerged and seemed to conquer the runway, in a warrior-like manner amidst the industrial tunes of music.

For those of you who have seen his fashion show last year, which had Lady Gaga premiering in a strut-like runway, you’ll realise that this collection is tad different; less provocative, sexy but instead, building more on the bold and strong woman image.

This season, the Mugler woman runs the world.