Pioneering trans model and OG muse Connie Girl returns to Mugler’s runway

Fashion crowd: we’ve finally made it. Just one day left in what felt like a never-ending fashion season, and Mugler decided to [almost] close things out by blowing us all away, literally. Besides decking-out the label’s SS24 showspace with cranked-up, industrial-sized fans which turned long strips of chiffon into dramatic, trailing trains that flowed behind models like exotic sea creatures – creative director Casey Cadwallader invited an all-star cast of models to stomp down the runway, including none other than OG Mugler Muse Connie Fleming aka Connie Girl.

In case you need a refresher: the legendary Jamaican-born, Brooklyn-raised transgender model and nightlife figure [Connie’s one of New York’s most notoriously tough club door guards] caught the eye of Thierry Mugler back in the 90s, leading to five years spent walking shows for the fashion house. Around the same time, she also walked for brands like Vivienne Westwood and appeared in George Michael’s “Too Funky” music video alongside supermodel Linda Evangelista.

Reuniting with the Mugler runway for SS24, Connie walked in a twisting, cut-out blazer, black mini skirt, and pointed, slip-on heels while adoring fans cheered from the audience. Meanwhile, FROW guest Laverne Cox celebrated the model’s runway appearance on Instagram. “In 1989, Connie Girl, an openly trans, Black woman got on a plane to Paris to walk for Thierry Mugler in his [AW98] runway show,” she wrote, emphasising the significance of Connie’s casting in the 90s. “I can’t express how much this historic return…means to me and so many others.”

Meanwhile, also making an appearance was 00s model Mariacarla Boscono, who opened up the show in a latex catsuit and train, and 90s supermodel Helena Christensen, who wore a sleek, boxy blazer and skin-tight, cut-out trousers. Elsewhere, reality star Paris Hilton traded in her usual flashy pinks, bobbing down the catwalk a chic, pointed-shoulder mini dress, Black Panther star Angela Bassett “did the thing”, walking in a giant, body-enveloping second-skin of fabric stuck-on from the wind, and fashion designer Mowalola walked in a green and orange-dipped button-up. 

Looking further into the label’s ground-breaking fashion history, it seemed Cadwallader used SS24 as a chance to dive into Mugler’s enormous archive of wild, radical looks for inspiration. Specifically, the creative director put his own spin on a number of runway moments from the 00s – from a sheer, sequined jumpsuit splaying with sparkling streamers and fringed black and tan jackets drawing inspo from Mugler’s Spring 1998 show to a black suit dissected into tops, belts, shorts, and boots with different strips of fabric recreating a look from Spring 1999. 

Click through the gallery above to check out the full offering.