Everyone has an Angel memory. Perhaps it was the first scent you coveted as a teenager, putting it on your Christmas list each year in the hope of finding a baby-blue parcel in your stocking. Maybe it was the scent your mother wore, wafting vanilla sweetness and femininity. Or was it one of the Angel campaigns, featuring goddess-like women surrounded by cosmic blue light? Few fragrances capture the collective imagination quite like Mugler’s Angel. First bottled 30 years ago, the star-shaped perfume is both an icon of the Mugler brand and a personal talisman treasured by many. 

All about the body

This year, Mugler celebrates three decades of Angel, partnering with Selfridges to create an immersive experience that captures the Mugler essence. With the help of Xylotek, a carpentry workshop specialising in sustainability, The Selfridges Corner Shop is transformed into the Body Space – a gigantic reclining woman’s body visible from both inside and outside the Selfridges Oxford Street flagship. “Our Mugler installation at Selfridges was born from my love of curves,” explains Casey Cadwallader, Mugler’s Creative Director. “I loved the idea of a bold view from the street, and a much more intimate experience when inside the sculptures.”

Finished in shimmering reflective chrome, the female form becomes a literal embodiment of Mugler’s vision. Stand in front of its mirror-like surface and perhaps you'll see your reflection, or maybe a witty and surprising distortion of your body, as if you’re wearing a Mugler design. Speaking of which, visitors will have the chance to shop a selection of Cadwallader’s signature fashion pieces - corseted, cutaway and mesh-panelled styles in black, silver and denim.

A second skin

The Body Space will also celebrate the sensuality of Mugler’s world-famous fragrances, a heady blend of nostalgia and future discovery. Angel, Alien and Goddess will all be available to purchase, alongside limited chrome editions, exclusive to the Body Space. Also for sale is a rare glass bottle, created in honour of Angel’s anniversary. Entirely hand-sculpted and hand-blown, the refillable bottle is one of only 30 in the entire world. Visitors can also try out a custom-built "Synaesthesia Chamber”, which uses light, sound and scent to bring Angel to life.

In true futurist style, Mugler also pioneered the concept of refillable fragrance long before anyone else. With 12,000 refill stations around the world, a bottle of Angel is recharged once every 25 seconds – and now you can refill yours at Selfridges, too. At the heart of the Body Space sits a fragrance fountain, where customers can replenish their existing bottles of Angel, Alien, Goddess and Alien Goddess (both the eau de toilettes and eau de parfums).

Celebrate with Mugler

With Christmas around the corner, there are plenty of festive ideas to choose from – from party outfits to presents. Decorate your home with a set of silver Angel ornaments or fill someone’s stocking with star-printed pencils and Mugler playing cards. If you’re still waiting for that baby-blue box, then why not add a stocking filler for yourself as well?

Head down to The Selfridges Corner Shop at Selfridges London to experience the Body Space, until 3 December 2022.