Fashion career profile
Miguel Castro Freitas
Portuguese fashion designer Miguel Castro Freitas became Creative Director of Mugler in 2025. After earning a BA in womenswear design at Central Saint Martins in 2004, he worked at Dior and Yves Saint Laurent before taking senior womenswear design roles at Lanvin and Dior. From 2017 to 2019 he led Dries Van Noten’s womenswear studio. He was Creative Director of Sportmax from the Spring/Summer 2021 season through 2024, then was appointed at Mugler in March 2025. The career spans design and studio leadership rather than a sequence of public-facing founder roles. Castro Freitas’s Mugler work builds on the house’s theatrical fashion heritage; Mugler’s Fall/Winter 2026 campaign credits him as Creative Director. Collection seasons are retained where employers and contemporary sources give seasons but no exact appointment dates, rather than converting them into falsely precise months.
- Role
- Creative Director, Mugler
- Nationality
- Portuguese
- Career appointments
- 4
- Fashion houses
- 4
- MuglerThe Impression · 2026-09-11
- EXCLUSIVE: Mugler Unveils Handbag Campaign Starring Nude Female BodybuilderWWD · 2026-07-23
- Education: BA in Womenswear Fashion Design, Central Saint Martins (2004)Vogue’s career profile specifies his degree and graduation year. · Vogue
- Earlier design career: Dior; Yves Saint Laurent (2008–2010); Lanvin (2011–2013); Dries Van Noten (2017–2019)Vogue provides the roles and dates for the linked-house chapters. · Vogue
- Sportmax: Creative Director from Spring/Summer 2021 through 2024 seasonsVogue identifies his most recent position before Mugler and gives the season range. · Vogue
- Mugler: Appointed Creative Director in March 2025Vogue reports the appointment; Mugler’s Fall/Winter 2026 campaign confirms his continuing role. · Vogue / Mugler
- 2004 — Graduates from Central Saint MartinsHe completes a BA in womenswear fashion design.
- 2021 — Begins Sportmax creative directionHis first Sportmax collections are for the Spring/Summer 2021 season.
- 2025 — Appointed Creative Director of MuglerMugler names Castro Freitas to lead the house’s creative direction.
- 2026 — Leads Mugler Fall/Winter 2026 campaignThe house credits Castro Freitas as Creative Director for its Fall/Winter 2026 campaign.
- 2025–Present — Creative Director — MuglerCurrent appointment · Mugler
- 2017–2019 — Head of Womenswear — Dries Van NotenHistorical appointment · Vogue
- 2011–2013 — Senior Womenswear Designer — LanvinHistorical appointment · Vogue
- 2008–2010 — Womenswear Designer — Saint LaurentHistorical appointment · Vogue