Pictured left to right: Thierry-Maxime Loriot, Curator; Manfred Thierry Mugler, creator; and Nathalie Bondil, Director General and Chief Curator, MMFA. Photo: © Max Abadian.

The Spring issue of Real Style Magazine is out now (find it online here)! Flip to the Fashion News section and we highlighted the Thierry Mugler: Couturissime exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), through September 8, 2019. Here we continue our conversation with exhibit curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot. Consider it bonus insider info.

Real Style: What separates Thierry Mugler: Couturissime from other fashion exhibits?
Thierry-Maxime Loriot: I have a different point of view and approach and love to collaborate with living artists and pay tribute to their work, but not in a retrospective way, more as an installation about their passions and obsessions; to make it very alive and [something] that people can relate to it. I feel very spoiled to be able to work with these creators. When they asked me, I really wanted to do this project, but with the same team I did the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibitions: the MMFA. The Museum has a unique expertise and an incredible team.

RS: There are more than 150 ensembles included in the exhibit. If you had to choose one, which is your personal favourite?
TML: The whole exhibition is a highlight… most pieces have never been shown to the public. I always love to integrate a lot of photography, videos, music, etc.; elements that visitors can relate to, for different age groups, whether it is a piece worn by a singer or an actress or to put the pieces into a social context and tell a story with it. I would say [Mugler], the man himself and his message, which is very necessary for a young generation to understand: that you can be different, and very creative and be successful at the same time. There is beauty in difference and we should embrace it. Museums provide access and tell a story with these fascinating artists. To take the words of Nathalie Bondil, Director [General and Chief Curator] of the MMFA, it is easier now to see a haute couture dress up close, than to see a Picasso or a Warhol that most museums have in their permanent collections. Fashion and haute couture have long been considered very elitist, it still is very inaccessible. Fashion is a form of art, the only one we can live in. 

RS: What was your reaction when you were asked to curate the exhibit?
TML: I was very touched as [Mugler] refused to everyone for the past two decades. It was a fantastic adventure to have access to him and he was very excited about creating an installation, not a funeral exhibition.

RS: Are there any surprises?
TML: So many… you have to come and visit!!!