GO AHEAD, STARE.

THE DAZZLER IS HERE.

She walks in with her sunglasses on, hair a little askew. She was supposed to be here an hour ago, but last night became this morning way too soon. Naturally, she’s wearing something impossibly cool — a flash of rhinestones; a glimpse of leather — it’s hard to tell whether it’s vintage or new. It doesn’t really matter. Her outfit is only part of the reason everyone looks. 

If you know MOTHER, you know exactly the kind of girl she is — or at least the kind of jeans she’s in. She wears The Dazzler: a straight leg with a lot of attitude. Slim without being too tight, it’s been a bestseller since it debuted about a decade ago. And, like any megastar, it’s got a backstory worthy of its iconic look. When The Dazzler first entered the scene in the 2010s, skinny jeans ruled and its straight-leg silhouette felt relatively relaxed. But as denim shapes evolved — slouchy! boyfriend! barrel! wide! — The Dazzler started to look like a skinny jean by default. It was for the better: “Once it gained traction, it never lost steam,” says Co-Founder and Creative Director Tim Kaeding. 

SHOP THE COLLECTION

Top: The Polar Opposite in Blue Eyeshadow; Bottoms: The Mid Rise Dazzler Ankle in Mascara Meltdown

After more than a decade at the top, it seemed only right then that The Dazzler should have a capsule collection all its own — one that could dress its legions of devotees from head-to-toe. After all, as Kaeding notes, “there’s a certain person that wears this jean…"

THE DAZZLER DEFINITELY HAS A PERSONALITY.

The Party In The Back Mini in Cotton Candy

To capture its essence, the MOTHER team looked to a time when fashion couldn’t help but turn heads — the glossy, over-the-top, never-stop-partying era of the late 80s and early 90s. Naturally, the team also looked to the OG supermodels — Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Claudia Schiffer — as muses, as well as the candy-colored hues, shiny finishes and washed-out denim they wore on the catwalk, in campaigns and everywhere else. “It was very sexy and fun and not too serious. Just a much more lighthearted take on clothes,” Art Director Dane Vaughn says of the time. “We became obsessed with soft pastels, metallics, bold glamour,” adds Senior Art Director Anna Ullman.

The Mid Rise Dazzler Ankle in Hairspray Hall of Fame

THE RESULT IS A TIGHTLY EDITED 14-PIECE WARDROBE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NO INTEREST IN FADING INTO THE BACKGROUND.

To wit: a cropped jacket called The Polar Opposite comes in electric blue faux-fur, while a cotton-candy pink Cropped Cardigan — inspired by another muse of the era, Heather Graham — is finished with pearl buttons. There’s also a fuzzy, lilac-pink funnel-neck dress with a keyhole opening in the back called, appropriately, The Party In The Back Mini and an extremely eye catching drop-shoulder denim jacket called The Flyaway with streams of rhinestone fringe spilling from beneath its collar.

Top: The Cropped Cardigan in Cotton Candy; Bottoms: The Mid Rise Dazzler Flood in Hoop Earrings

Conjuring an array of separates this showstopping also gave the team a chance to reimagine The Dazzler itself. The Mid Rise Dazzler Ankle, for example, comes in a light gray acid wash, while other versions are rendered in a blue so pale it’s almost white. “The light wash that we did is a very 80s kind of wash — it’s super pastel blue, super light,” says Senior Designer Hannah Franson. “And then also the gray acid wash as well. Obviously, we know acid wash is very 80s. The washes help to tell the story.”

Elsewhere, the familiar silhouette gets even more 80s — and flashier. The High-Waisted X-Wing Dazzler Hover features a metallic inset at the waist, while the Mid Rise Dazzler Flood trades denim altogether for shiny pink metallic vegan leather. (There’s a matching pleated mini skirt, too, for moments when regular pants won’t do.)

Top: The Cropped Cardigan in Cotton Candy; Bottoms: The Pleated Mini Skirt in Hoop Earrings; The Decaf in Cotton Candy Frosting

The shine extends all the way down to the smallest details. A vintage safety pin brooch with dangling letters inspired a rhinestone MOTHER version, while metallic finishes appear on patches, hardware, buttons and labels. Even the collection’s hangtag is a credit-card-sized mirror — a small flash of light designed to stand out on the rack. “It’s one of my favorite hangtags we’ve ever created because it immediately catches your eye and transports you into the world of The Dazzler before you’ve even tried on the product,” says Ullman. “Because the capsule’s so small, it gives us that opportunity to really focus on all of those little custom details.” 

Other custom details? Skinny patent-leather belts come in butter yellow and hot pink. A washed-black cropped ringer tee reads “THE STARS THAT SHINE” in silver foil. And fuzzy knit leg warmers — The Decaf — come in both electric blue and hot pink, each embroidered with the words “MOTHER FUCKER.” They’re Kaeding’s favorite. “I thought that told the story hands down,” he says.

Top: The Flyaway Jacket in Sparkle Emergency Kit; Bottoms: The High Waisted X-Wing Dazzler Hover in Jazzercise

The nostalgic-glam fantasy carries into the video campaign as well. Rather than digitally recreating the soft, slightly surreal look of a vintage fashion commercial, the team shot the whole thing with an actual 1980s television broadcasting camera. “There wasn’t a fake filter over it,” Vaughn says. “It was the real deal, and you can see it in the highlights when there’s that blue glow.” The visual references nod to those old supermodel campaigns, giving the whole thing a hazy, late-night television mystique.

It’s the perfect fit for the kind of woman who probably would order a Long Island Iced Tea — or several — at the bar while Blondie’s “Heart of Glass” plays on the jukebox and everyone else watches from the side. The kind of woman who, let’s face it, could probably be called The Dazzler herself.

“I don’t like predictability,” Kaeding says of the collection’s magnetism. “I don’t want people to put us in a box.” The Dazzler wouldn’t fit in one anyway.

I DON'T LIKE PREDICTABILITY. I DON'T WANT PEOPLE TO PUT US IN A BOX.

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