Fashion career profile
Casey Cadwallader
Casey Cadwallader is an American fashion designer whose tenure at Mugler connected the house’s architectural heritage with contemporary ready-to-wear and performance. He studied architecture at Cornell and moved into fashion after an internship at Marc Jacobs. His design career included TSE, Narciso Rodriguez, Loewe, J. Mendel and Acne Studios, where he led pre-collections. Mugler announced him as Creative Director in December 2017, and his first collection followed in 2018. At the house he developed sculptural ready-to-wear and became known for inclusive casting, film-led presentations and collaborations with performers. His shows sometimes took place during Paris couture week, but they were ready-to-wear presentations, not haute couture collections. Cadwallader left Mugler in 2025, and the house subsequently appointed Miguel Castro Freitas as his successor. His work joined architectural training and fashion-studio experience in a contemporary interpretation of Mugler’s body-conscious design language.
- Role
- Former Creative Director, Mugler
- Career appointments
- 1
- Fashion houses
- 1
- Education: Architecture, Cornell UniversityHis architectural training preceded his work in fashion design. · Vogue
- Mugler: Appointment announced in 2017; first collection in 2018The house announced the appointment in December 2017; his first collection followed in 2018. · Vogue
- Mugler: Departed in 2025His tenure ended before Miguel Castro Freitas’s successor appointment. · Business of Fashion
- Earlier career: TSE, Narciso Rodriguez, Loewe, J. Mendel and Acne StudiosVogue documents his design roles and his pre-collections leadership at Acne Studios. · Vogue
- Early career: Internship at Marc Jacobs while studying architectureThe internship preceded his full-time fashion design roles. · Dazed
- Runway presentations: Staged multimedia shows, including presentations during couture weekThe house presented film and runway formats during couture week; these are not classified as haute couture collections. · Vogue
- 2017 — Appointed Creative Director of MuglerThe appointment was announced in December 2017, before he began the role and presented his first collection in 2018.
- 2018 — Presents first Mugler collectionHis first collection followed the appointment announcement.
- 2025 — Concludes Mugler tenureCadwallader departed before the house appointed Miguel Castro Freitas.
- 2017–2025 — Creative Director — MuglerHistorical appointment · Vogue