Yseult on the Meaning Behind Her Latest Performance Look

“Fashion is important for the visual aspect of storytelling,” Yseult tells Vogue of the Victoires de la Musique performance outfit, adding that it was important to her for the look to showcase the body rather than conceal it. “My body is a tool. I’m remembering how I used to feel in my body and how I used to speak of my body with disgust and bitterness, a lot of bitterness. Today, with a little more groundwork on myself, I’ve grown to love and hate it; I have learned to accept this duality. You need to hate yourself to love yourself.” 

Cadwallader adds that, for him, the bodysuit was the perfect garment to highlight her form and stay true to the theme of the song. It also happens to be one of the fashion house’s signatures. “The bodysuit is something I love at Mugler,” he says. “This was a moment where she did not want to hide but to reveal herself to the audience. [Bodysuits] have this duality in which they cover the entire body, from toe to fingertip, and yet show all. Ultimately the body is what makes the look.” For Yseult’s awards acceptance speech later on, the designer added a structured white blazer over the bodysuit. With slashed cutouts at the waist, it also revealed the body underneath. 

Yseult says Cadwallader’s willingness to showcase her body and consider her feedback during the design process was a refreshing fittings experience. “Instead of saying, ‘This is the shape; this is the pattern you know; it is what it is,’ Casey listened to me,” says Yseult. “It felt so good to be listened [to].” Likewise the designer says he was drawn to working with the singer because of her ongoing mission to challenge beauty norms: “Yseult is an artist who is here to set a new example. For me it aligns with what I want to do with fashion, which is to show the world that there is a lot more beauty out there. Beauty that does not conform to the standards from 10 or 20 years ago.”