Hey @muglerize, What’s Your ID? - Men's Folio Malaysia
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Hey @muglerize, What’s Your ID?

From NeNe Leakes to obscure internet personalities, digital archivist Nathan Capistrano makes it his business to identify curated and off-the-cuff fashion moments.

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“Who are you wearing?” — a phrase cemented as part of comedian Joan Rivers’ legacy when she covered red- carpet interviews in the early aughts — encapsulated the insatiable thirst for celebrity culture: the need to know who they dated, where they ate, and how they kept their bodies tight. It was the same reason that brought Google Images to life, all thanks to J. Lo’s infamous Versace dress that had users crashing their search engines to get a closer look.

Today, identifying what celebrities wear has spiralled into a phenomenon larger than just public appearances. Gwyneth Paltrow’s ski crash trial in 2023 escalated from a legal to a sartorial spectacle as the internet clamoured to identify her courtroom style that ranged from The Row to Prada.

“This is what Jackson Wang allegedly wore to The Met,” was how a friend decided on her next pair of sunglasses after finding it out from Xiaohongshu. Same-day updates on Instagram and Twitter showcase what Aespa’s Karina wore upon landing in Incheon in a split-image format, with individual pieces and their prices arranged in a collage.


The incessant curiosity is also a driving factor behind the launch of digital archivists into the stratosphere. Meet Nathan Capistrano, based in the Philippines, better known as @muglerize on X and Instagram, who notoriously identifies fashion from pop culture moments through pixelated Stan Twitter GIFs and screengrabs from glossy music videos.

In one tweet, he identifies the Peter Dundas for Pucci dress NeNe Leakes wore in Season 6 of Real Housewives of Atlanta. “You look fabulous,” said Kenya Moore. “You don’t,” Leakes snaps back. In another tweet, he shares a photo of Mariah Carey on the set of Honey, wearing a little black dress next to an image from the original runway.

He captions “mariah carey in dolce & gabbana f/w 1997 for the “honey” music video, styled by joe zee (1997)”. Beyond explicit moments geared for glamour, you also find Capistrano’s best work in the form of the banal and the absurd. “celine s/s 2022 dalmatian-print pants”, as he spots the piece from a viral Chinese screen protector TikTok ad.

What makes Capistrano a master of his craft is not only his eye for spotting designer pieces, but also his ability to capitalise on the zeitgeist, especially within subcultures.

“My best friend is Google Lens when it comes to identifying the pieces. While some people have been snarky about how they think it’s easy, you also need to be highly meticulous and incredibly detailed,” he explains.

Recalling the time he identified Tiffany “New York” Pollard’s black lace dress on the dating show Flavour of Love, he went through a myriad of lace dresses before landing on the exact one from a now-defunct label, True Meaning.

“It’s about having a well-trained eye — sometimes even two — to detect to an almost obsessive degree the placement of the flowers in the lace, the neckline details, all that stuff to identify the exact piece. Attention to detail, time and a lot of patience are key to the whole process.”

His process differs when it comes to identifying with curated celebrity-led moments versus offhand moments. “When you’ve been researching fashion for a while — seven years, in my case — you become knowledgeable of it and its facets.

You learn about fashion designers, houses and their unique codes; trends from specific years and seasons, all leading to a photographic memory of fashion collections.” As a seasoned enthusiast, he looks through the different years and seasons of fashion — sometimes out of boredom to denote the different parallels between celebrity and music moments.

Capistrano is always up for a challenge — some of his hardest pieces to identify have ranged from TikTok personality “Boss and CEO” @mainlymannie to Björk.

“The former’s Lafayette 148 New York Blazer took me a year to find, while Björk’s custom Junya Watanabe Spring 1997 piece she wore in the Bachelorette music video took even longer,” he recalls. A fan request that still remains a mystery to him is YouTuber Zach Campbell’s grey raglan tee with tropical-printed sleeves, which he wore in a reaction video to Rihanna’s 2016 VMAs performance.

That has since been immortalised as a Stan Twitter reaction video beloved by pop culture enthusiasts. “I have identified some pieces from Beyoncé’s Deja Vu, my favourite music video, in terms of fashion, ever, like Cavalli, Gaultier Haute Couture from the ‘Hommage à la Grèce’ collection and to my surprise, Rifat Ozbek from 1999, for how niche, yet incredible it was. Some pieces from the video that I still haven’t found have driven me to the point of reviewing all my fashion show footage just to try and search for those pieces. This shows my love for Beyoncé, Tina Knowles and her old stylist Ty Hunter for their impeccable, top-tier styling work.”

While he has been acknowledged by peers and industry heavyweights, such as Ty Hunter himself, he has never been tipped off by stylists when identifying pieces. “I wouldn’t prefer that since the search itself is really special and thrilling for me. If they see and acknowledge it, then it’s like having a cherry on top.”

Having noticed the parallels between the reception of Capistrano’s work and the current state of fashion that is heavily fascinated with looking back, I asked what made vintage fashion so appealing.

“It has to do with how accessible everything is today — may that be with information, archives, or both — which is great, as well as the difficulty of creating something unique. Everything has already been done before, and then all over again, not only in this period but also in previous ones. We’re constantly looking back, paying homage to something or someone, whether consciously or unconsciously, and that’s ok.”

Acknowledging that pure, unadulterated newness can be a form of rarity, he finds it natural that, as individuals, we gravitate towards something that already has history and cultural significance, in hopes of capturing the same magic again.

“Very few are willing to truly recontextualise it for themselves and make it their own,” he admits. As for whether the allure of vintage fashion or the regurgitation of anything from the past will reach a saturation point? “I don’t think people will stop wearing vintage. This fascination is rooted in the present, but now, the goal is to create a new, unique point with it rather than a carbon copy of a look that was once done.”

While Capistrano agrees that there is kinship in knowing what others wear, he does not operate from a point of parasocialism, which suggests that he feels closer to the individual by knowing or wearing the same design.

“You just become more knowledgeable, in an insider’s kind of way, about what kind of relationships artists have with fashion brands as you continue your research. For example, J.Lo was a Michael Kors girl; Janet Jackson had a Marni era, which surprised me; Sade loved Gaultier. You then understand what they like and their taste in fashion, which in turn, is a form of kinship.”

Curious but not emotionally invested in his findings, he approaches his work with an academic level of refinement, without the burden of an agenda to portray his subjects and their character in a different light, besides highlighting their style.

Extrapolating from the words of journalist Lynn Yaeger, who once said that to be interested in fashion is to learn everything except fashion, I asked Capistrano if there was any advice for those interested in broadening their knowledge.

“There is no definitive answer, because the expansion of one’s knowledge — and in the process, the cultivation of one’s taste — is a very personal journey. However, I think it’s best to be a sponge to the world and absorb whatever intrigues you. I stop in my tracks and jot it down in a notepad or on my phone; it’s got Brâncuși, Don Quixote, and a bird I once saw at the park. I write down what I find interesting and research about them after, in turn, becoming more inspired.”

He also credits his peers, @rianphin, @shadyasashade, @guillot.na, @aitor_salinas, @stephanegaboue, and @flyrebel, for being strong, albeit virtual, influences who have empowered him to cultivate his own taste.

Lastly, he recommends going out by oneself just to observe the world around and gain a sense of introspection. Maybe throw in a little Real Housewives, too. “NeNe Leakes, hands down the most stylish Housewife. The Pucci girl. And she always, always has a nasty shoe on. I also love how Phaedra Parks had so many Prada bags.”

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