Performance artist David Hoyle on his surreal fashion how-to videos for Mugler: ‘Put a costume on and you are liberated’

When architecture firm Maxwell and Tuke was commissioned to build The Blackpool Tower in the late 1800s, its brief from the Lancashire seaside town’s mayor was to create a near replica of the Eiffel Tower, then recently erected in Paris. Appropriately dubbed ‘The Eiffel Tower of the North’, the steel and cast-iron structure was home to a menagerie and aquarium, a ballroom and a circus, the glitz, glamour and grandeur paying homage to Parisian spectacle through British eyes. Artist David Hoyle, who grew up in Blackpool during the 1960s and 1970s, recalls regular visits to the attraction, where he would watch the likes of resident clowning duo Charlie Cairoli and Paul Freedman perform. ‘The circus was a huge influence on me,’ he says over a phone call. ‘Towards the end of the show, it would fill up with water. The clowns, Charlie in particular, used to frighten some children because of their make-up. But to me it was just amazing and out of this world.’

In 2026, another Paris-Blackpool connection has materialised for Hoyle, who now stars in a series of short videos for Mugler. The French haute couture and ready-to-wear label was founded by late iconoclast Manfred Thierry Mugler in 1974, with a debut collection titled ‘Café de Paris’. The avant-garde fashion house, which the designer and artist built to escape a reality in which he never felt he belonged, similarly became an escapist beacon for those pushing against the status quo. Among them was Hoyle, whose queer adolescence collided with the rise of Thatcherism. ‘Thierry Mugler made a big impression on me,’ he says. ‘The theatricality of the garments… You learn what a costume can do; it can change you. I mean, in your private life, you know, you might be on your knees. But put a costume on, and you’re liberated.’

Hoyle developed his signature form of satirical cabaret in the gay clubs of Manchester and London through ‘anti-drag’ character The Divine David. ‘I suppose I called myself that because I do have a belief that all of us contain some form of divinity,’ says Hoyle, also noting the influence of Bette Midler’s stage persona The Divine Miss M. ‘But it was tongue-in-cheek, really.’ Gaining a cult following, Hoyle was tapped by Channel 4 to host his own shows, The Divine David Presents (1998) and The Divine David Heals (2000), which saw him sport signature Divine David garb – appearing as though Elsie Tanner from Coronation Street had a nasty in run in with a Blackpool circus clown – and deliver surrealist social commentary against the backdrop of a psychedelic greenscreen. (Hoyle would later ‘kill off’ The Divine David at Streatham Ice Rink, in a funerary spectacle called ‘The Divine David on Ice’).

Miguel Castro Freitas, appointed Mugler’s creative director in 2025, after the departure of Casey Cadwaller, is a huge admirer of Hoyle, for ‘his wit, disruptive spirit, and glamour’. ‘[They are] aspects that are all essential to Mugler, as well,’ the Portuguese designer says in a press release for the new video series, which brings The Divine David back to life on film. ‘It was such a lovely surprise hearing from Miguel,’ Hoyle says. ‘We connected via my manager, Tim, over a Zoom call. He explained how he’d followed my work for years and vowed to collaborate with me one day, and his new role at Mugler was the perfect opportunity to make it happen.’ Hoyle was ‘given free creative rein’ over the direction of the videos, which were shot by his long-time creative partner Lee Baxter, with Manchester-based drag artist Liquorice Black responsible for ‘styling and coiffure’. ‘We were a really great local creative team,’ adds Hoyle, explaining that everything was shot in the UK’s North West. ‘I was very grateful to Mugler for allowing me to make the films there; there’s no reason why high-quality work can’t be produced outside of London,’ says Hoyle.

The final three films of the nine-part digital series drop in increments this week (23-28 February 2026). In each one, The Divine David explains ‘how to’ wear Mugler’s ‘The Wardrobe of Identities’, the brand’s pre-S/S 2026 collection, for a variety of scenarios, ranging from the commonplace to the absurd. For example, embarking on a cruise or travelling to Pluto. ‘Getting to wear those clothes… I have to say, it was incredible,’ says Hoyle, calling out the ‘butter satin’ gown featured in ‘Episode VI’ as a standout piece. ‘The script was written around the pieces in the collection, and the idea of wearing something so beautiful and exquisite to go foraging for mushrooms or to take a bus.

‘The times that we’re living in, you couldn’t make them up,’ says Hoyle. ‘I’m old enough to remember going on marches in the 1980s. And entering the 1990s, you really felt that you were going towards a more progressive future. But at the moment, we seem to have hit some sort of brick wall.’ Hoyle’s perspective on the role fashion plays during times of sociopolitical unrest is largely optimistic, however. ‘To me, fashion is a sort of antidote to evil,’ he muses. ‘I think it’s always served that purpose. It has its problems, as everything does. But I think that the fantasy of it, the escapism, the ability to play around and have a laugh, is so important. And, as with the series we’ve made with Mugler and Miguel, I find the fashion world very encouraging of creativity, allowing space to be idiosyncratic and a bit off the wall.’

Mugler A/W 2026, Freitas’ second runway collection for the house, will take place on 6 March during Paris Fashion Week. Will Hoyle be making an appearance on the FROW? ‘Oh, we need to discuss that, Nicky, but we’ll see!’ he says to Mugler’s global comms director, also on the call. ‘But it would be nice if possible, as I love Paris. There’s nothing better than sitting at a café on a boulevard somewhere, or in Montmartre. I’ve been a few times with Lee [Baxter]. We just sit together in silence and just watch all the beautiful, eccentric people go by.’

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