Mugler has unveiled a new chapter in leather goods with its debut handbag campaign under newly appointed creative director Miguel Castro Freitas.
Photographed by Chris Lensz, the campaign spotlights female bodybuilder Tatiana Horslaville, who poses nude alongside pieces from the luxury brand’s two new lines: the Aurora and the Lua.
According to The Zoe Report, the campaign’s visual language references classic portraiture and late 19th-century sculpture studies, positioning strength as an expression of dignified elegance.
“Bodybuilding has given me so much more than just a physique. It's taught me discipline, patience, rigor, and professional opportunities, like my collaboration with @vicorne_competitor and @muglerofficial, which I hope will allow me to seize other opportunities,” Horslaville wrote on her Instagram Story, originally in French.
“It's also given me wonderful encounters and the chance to inspire and motivate others,” she continued. “Ultimately, bodybuilding isn't just a sport. It's a school of life that can transform your mindset... and sometimes even your future.”
The Aurora bag has a personal connection to Castro Freitas, who named it after his mother and based the design on a 2002 Spring Collection Mugler piece.
"Naming the Aurora after my mother made the collection deeply personal," he said, per WWD. "It wasn't simply about paying tribute to her or Manfred [Thierry Mugler]'s original bags but about capturing the strength and confidence that shaped my understanding of femininity from an early age. It felt like the right beginning for this new chapter of handbags at Mugler."
The Aurora features a shaped construction, raw-edged interior, and Castro Freitas' signature monolith metallic detail, crafted in Italy and available in black, taupe, and an embossed snake-effect.
The bag retails between $1,850 and $2,000. The companion Lua, named from the Portuguese word for "moon," takes a crescent-inspired silhouette in hand-folded supple calf leather and is also available in black and snake-embossed Italian leather.
The standard Lua runs $2,100 to $2,300, while the larger Lua City version is priced at $3,100.
"For me, handbags are our most intimate objects," Castro Freitas said. "They become an extension of one's body and carry memory with time. With Aurora and Lua, I wanted to create pieces that honour Mugler's extraordinary heritage while introducing my expression for leather goods that is both sculptural and deeply sensual."
The bags appeared on the runway in Castro Freitas' debut Spring/Summer 2026 collection last October.
