Design and symbolism
Although the suit remains unnamed, it was notably described by Vogue Runway as a "Silvery Cyborg Getup",<[2] has been called a "Fembot Suit",<[1] "Robot Couture" and a "Cyborg Suit",<[5] and "Robot woman",< along with a slew of other names by other sources.
Designed by the late Thierry Mugler, the metal and perspex catsuit was unveiled at Mugler's fall/winter 1995 collection show at the Cirque d'Hiver in France.<[1] This intricate and unique garment was designed in collaboration with three renowned craftsmen: corsetiere Mr. Pearl,<[1] artist Jean-Jacques Urcun,<[3] and aircraft specialist Jean-Pierre Delcros.<[4] On the runway, this design's debut was marked as German supermodel Nadja Auermann performed a striptease where she shed a juxtaposing purple floor-length coat along with a sheer black cover-up, revealing the articulated metal jumpsuit.<[2]<[4]
The suit was inspired by the design of the Maschinenmensch, a humanoid robot from Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis, and the sleek, erotic robots characteristic of Japanese illustrator Hajime Sorayama.<[1] Overall, this garment stands as a feminist symbol of allure and strength. Featuring strategic and striking perspex cutouts highlighting commonly idealized parts of the female body such as the buttocks, boobs, and face, Mugler melds the rigid robotic armor with the inherent fluidity of the female form to allude to ideas of the perfect plastic female form as a weapon.<[6]<[1]
This idea is in the same realm as the work of Hajime Sorayama, as the opaque and glistening metal acts as a barrier to desire while the perspex cutouts act to highlight the unattainable beauty standards women are subjected to in erotic media like porn.<[7] This idea isn't new to Mugler, as he often makes garments that reflect feminist ideals, such as women as warriors. The cutouts also stand to represent the intermixing of robotics and human forms,<[5] as his reference to Metropolis and Hajime Sorayama would imply; however, Mugler twists this idea by visually creating a definition between the two forms. This definition, by way of differential material usage, metal and perspex, provides a commentary on the fragmentation of female forms and the commodification of both the female and robotic body. The design eye-catching explores the interaction between humans and technology and reflects narratives around the intermixing of both organic and synthetic realms.
