In 1992, Thierry Mugler was authorised by the Chambre syndicale de la Couture to join the very closed club of haute couture as an “invited member” and present his first couture collection. At the time haute couture was suffering from a distinct lack of modernity and daring and was tiring the press and the buyers. For this collection, the designer chose the splendid setting of the Ritz swimming pool, which also gave its name to the collection. For the event, he invited some 20 seamstresses to his atelier to work with him on the creation of unique pieces articulated around the corset. The result was a collection of remarkable precision where the unerring sense of detail exalted the creativity. His immediate success earned the designer a permanent haute couture membership that lasted for ten years.