At the end of last year, Megan Thee Stallion and Casey Cadwallader, creative director of Mugler Fashion, had their first meeting on the set for the video for Mugler’s spring 2022 collection—and the creative alchemy between the pair was instantly apparent. As Megan took to the soundstage on a Hollywood backlot wearing a riff on Cadwallader’s signature cut-out bodysuits crafted by the Mugler ateliers from denim, the visual instantly came to life. It was released today, and you can see it below.
“I was just so mind-blown by all the clothes, the hair, the makeup, the sets, the way it all came together,” says Megan over the phone from Los Angeles. “I was like, ‘How is all this happening in your brain?’ And I thought it would be so fire if we did it in the music space too.”
So they did just that. Megan’s latest track, “Plan B,” is a testament to her talent as a rapper. Its flow simultaneously pays homage to ’90s greats like Lil’ Kim set over a sample of Jodeci’s 1995 remix of “Freek’N You” (featuring Wu-Tang Clan) while also ushering in a bolder new era for Megan as an artist. And when it came to settling on a concept for the video, which premiered last week, she immediately knew who to call. The Mugler creative director jumped at the chance to helm a video, which he codirected with his partner, John Miserendino. “We were trying to have a lot of fun but also trying to do something very new for us,” says Cadwallader. “It was a wild one.”
The result was a strikingly minimalist vision that captures both Megan’s beauty (and in her words, her “body-ody-ody”) in a series of meticulously fitted, skintight Mugler looks, and her lightning-in-a-bottle charisma. “I want it to be about me and my words and to showcase what I can do without all the extras,” says Megan. And if that weren’t enough? For her show-stopping performance at the Billboard Awards last month, Megan wore two looks custom-made for her by Mugler—one on the red carpet and the other for a performance of her new hit that brought the house down. Clearly, it’s a match made in heaven.
Here, Megan Thee Stallion and Cadwallader speak exclusively to Vogue about their shared set of references, the story behind their fast friendship, and how her latest series of Mugler looks speaks to the direction of her next, impending musical project.
Vogue: First of all, how did you meet, and what do you think it was that drew you to each other?
Megan Thee Stallion: Okay, I’m gonna go first. I met Casey on the set of the collection video that he and Mugler invited me to be a part of. And when I was there, I was like, “Oh, my God, this is incredible. Wait a minute, I want this!” When I figured out it was Casey who put it all together, I just thought he was so amazing and so talented, and I bet he would be so good at doing a music video. I know he’s probably never done it before, but let’s take the risk and ask him would he pretty please do it for me? I had my team reach out to Casey, and I was thinking, Please, please, please, let him say yes. And he did. So we came together, we did the “Plan B” video, and it turned out amazing.
Casey Cadwallader: I mean, I have been a huge fan of Megan since the beginning. She actually wore a Mugler top in one of her very first videos. I followed her for the last four or five years, and I’ve been dying for her to be a part of Mugler, so this opportunity was just a dream come true for me.
What exactly is it that you relate to within Casey’s aesthetic, Megan, and how do you feel when you wear his clothes?
Megan Thee Stallion: I love to take risks, you know. I love to show some skin, I love to show my curves, and I’m super confident about my body. But what makes it even better is when you wear something that is tailored down to the last detail, which Casey’s designs always are. If I’m like, “Casey, I don’t like how this looks on my hip,” he’ll go, “Don’t worry, we can fix that.” I have big boobs and I’m all natural too, but they make sure it fits every curve and is so perfectly tailored to me. It felt so good to be able to work with someone who understood and appreciated my body rather than trying to squeeze me into something. That’s what makes it feel so special.
When you first started working on the creative for the “Plan B” video, what were the kinds of references you were sending each other?
Megan Thee Stallion: With this whole new era of my music, I want it all to be about the artist. I want it to be about me and my words and to showcase what I can do without all the extras. Because I sometimes feel, as an artist, there’s so much pressure to do so many things to please so many different people. But I remember how I felt when I was first coming up and I did everything for myself. Working with Casey and doing this type of music video, which is very stripped back for me, was exactly what I wanted. So when Casey came to me with the treatment I was like, “This is so perfect.” I really didn’t have to tell him that much. It was pretty much exactly what I wanted. I want it to get back to me. I want you to hear my music, I want you to see me perform, and I feel like up against that all black, the viewer got to really just get into what I was saying. It wasn’t overshadowed by green screen and all kinds of craziness, it was just about the fashion and the music.
Cadwallader: When I first heard “Plan B,” I just knew that this video had to be all about Megan. That it would only be her in it, and it would focus on her the entire time. I think in order to spit this track out, it’s so important that she stands super competent, regal, and powerful. So it was really about trying to find these amazing angles that would allow her to command the screen and really dominate it. And I knew that she was an insane performer. Once you get the camera on, she does three takes, and each one is better and better and better than the previous.
There’s also that amazing final shot of Megan where she’s being held up with supports like you’d see under an ancient sculpture in a museum. How did that come together?
Megan Thee Stallion: Casey was just like, “Megan, would you be up for going naked? We’ll make you a hat!” And I was like, “Oh, shit, naked, okay!” [Laughs.] We just cleared the room, and of course, I was super comfortable. Casey wanted it to be all about body and beauty. When I walked on set, I just thought, Well, I hope it comes out pretty! And it did. Although I really had to balance myself. That was really me on top of like, three sticks. But it was so much fun.
And Casey, you were serving double duty in a sense, both directing the video and designing the clothes. What were you trying to go for on the fashion side?
Cadwallader: I really wanted it to be very refined, graphic, and clean. I find Megan to be one of the most gorgeous people on the planet, so I wanted to see her in something more pared back. I just wanted everything to be really, really, really clean so that the thing that you remember most is the performance. All the looks are black and graphic with illusion panels in between, to make a very sort of sexy and sculpted silhouette.
Casey, you tend to work with a lot of muses from the world of music. What is it about female musicians, in particular, that inspires you?
Cadwallader: I mean, I have always been pretty much obsessed with female performers. It started with Janet Jackson, Madonna, Lil’ Kim, Foxy Brown, and Queen Latifah. I was also focused on these strong women. The thing about these people is that they are so confident and so full of energy and so radiant. And for me, that is really the epitome of what Mugler is about. It’s about dressing you to make you feel like the sharpest, very best version of yourself. And I think, with these amazing women and performers, it takes the spirit of the brand to its highest level.
Megan, as your career has evolved, do you feel like you’ve had an increased understanding of how fashion is important to what you hope to present to the world as an artist? Or was it always there from day one?
Megan Thee Stallion: I mean, as a woman, you always want to be in the best of the best, right? You want to be sexy, you want to make other women feel sexy, you want to be like a dream to everybody. I’m from Texas, and it’s hot in Texas. So when I was first coming up, I was super fine with walking outside in a pair of booty shorts and a bra top. And I still will do that! [Laughs.] But as I change and grow as an artist, I’m like, “You know what, I want to look like this, and I want to be this character today.” I feel like getting to play with clothes and getting to play with fashion really brings these different people to life that I have inside of me, and that I want to channel at certain times. Right now, I feel very sleek. I feel very sexy. I feel confident and I feel strong. I feel like I’m coming into a new chapter of my life as an artist. And I feel like Mugler, and the brand and the way that Casey designs the clothes, is what I see myself growing towards. This is what I see Megan evolving into right now. So yeah, I feel like my approach to style has definitely grown and changed over the course of me finding myself as an artist, and as a person.
Does that more stripped-back aesthetic—where the focus is primarily on you, your words, and your looks—reflect where you’re going next with your sound as you head towards your second album?
Megan Thee Stallion: I mean, honestly, I just want people to know that I’m talented in real life. I don’t need a circus going on behind me to distract you from the fact that I can really, really rap. I just feel like I’m that girl, so I gotta show everybody that I am that girl. I don’t need all of the extras right now. I just want the whole focus of the next project and my next era to be about me, without the tricks.
Obviously we’ve spoken a lot about your creative connection, but has a friendship formed over the course of you working together so extensively? What is it that you admire in each other as people?
Megan Thee Stallion: Well, first of all, he’s not getting rid of me. [Laughs.] As soon as I met Casey, something clicked. In this industry, there’s only a handful of people where you have that kind of genuine connection. He’s so calm, and he makes me calm, reassured, and confident. I feel like I can really trust him to bring what I want to life.
Cadwallader: I would never want to get rid of you! I just want more. For me, the thing that really blew me away was just how meticulous, intelligent, and on top of everything Megan is. She’s involved in every single detail, and she pushes herself so hard. Every take that we would do, she would look at it and say, “I could do better.” And then she’d do a new take, and it really would be better. I was just like, What? How do you do that? As a performer she’s amazing, but as a person she’s very humble and funny and loving. I guess I sort of just fell in love.
This article first appeared on Vogue.
