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Ever looked at a runway show and thought “Where in God’s name would anyone wear that?”. Jeremy Scott answers that question quite literally in his latest digital runway presentation for Moschino. After his wonderfully fanciful response to pandemic restrictions, Scott blesses the industry yet again with a fantastical and fun setup inspired by The Women to get our minds off of these trying times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5mkUfUonpI
Scott’s short film, “Jungle Red” opens with Stella Maxwell, Dita Von Tesse, and Winnie Harlow chatting and sipping tea as whimsical harp music plays. For such an occasion, they seem to have pulled their most surreal pieces. All very Jackie Kennedy, until a closer look is taken at the pockets of Maxwell and Von Tesse’s prim suit jackets, which have been fashioned from coin purses. Harlow also got the memo, wearing a long sleeve black gown with a long pearl necklace frozen into place with stitching.
For The City
As the trio takes their seats, host Maye Musk prepares us for an “adventurous little voyage into fashion land”, herself clad in a black knee-length long sleeve skirt suit with gold buttons, logo earrings, and multistrand pearls. Maye calls for light and music, and the curtain rises to reveal a dark and gray cityscape illuminated by the windows of the buildings. Hailey Bieber is the first to grace the set, wearing a dark pinstripe suit set and platform heels. Four more models follow her, all showing off 1930s workwear-inspired tops, suits and dresses with a small hat and black and white platforms. They walk with confidence, looking around the room sensually yet confidently as if they’re going to take it over and make it theirs by sheer will. Are they breaking the glass ceiling? Are they running the mafia with Al Capone? We’ll never know.
For A Country Retreat
After an exciting look at some possible lady mobsters, the backdrop turns, and the audience is greeted by a tranquil country pasture and a perfectly cloudy blue sky. Models Miranda Kerr, Soo Joo Park and Kirsty Hume take very direct inspiration from the scenery, entering in a cow and sky print ball gown, three-piece suit and a green gingham suit with cow print top respectively. The set coming after them appears to have fallen on hard times, getting resourceful in making their chic pencil skirts, suit jackets and dresses out of old feed sacks. Two more debut late 40s inspired looks out of patchwork, presumably fabric scraps. All looks are a wonderful homage to ensemble dressing, a style popular in the 1940s which involved matching your bag, hat and shoes. The second and third sections in particular reference the great depression, in which impoverished families made their clothing out of empty flour sacks to save money. Whether these looks were a product of the models’ poverty of a case of turning a coat of many colors into a wealth statement, we don’t know. But they are beautiful and fun to look at either way and Marylin Monroe would be proud.
For An Art Gallery
After some countryside R&R, our slew of society ladies is headed to an art gallery for some much-needed cultural exposure. For such an occasion, they opt for leather suits with strong shoulders, peplum detail and lots of extra zipper details. Definitely not war ration friendly, but worth batting eyelashes at the local ration committee. And if you feel like the painting’s eyes are following you, you’re not alone. They’ve gotten some gallery-worthy garb of their own, and they have a talent for draping. Brushstroke patterns in bright orange, pink, green and yellow add electric vibrancy to otherwise soft and sultry gowns and capes. A wonderful portrayal of the contrast between using color versus structure to achieve similar energy in a garment.
For A Safari
Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! We’re off to the jungle for a shopping safari, and there seem to be a few different dress codes. Half have become one with the animals, wearing a giraffe-inspired cocktail dress and headpiece, a zebra print utility dress and even a gold snake textured skirt suit with a tail. The rest have taken their inspiration from troops in Africa with utilitarian safari dresses and suits in khaki, with the most outrageous parts of the outfits being the oversized hats. Either there was a huge disagreement on who was writing the dress code, or someone at Moschino really likes predator-prey dynamics.
For A Fashion Show
As the curtain closes on a beautiful leopard swinging her tail, you might be left wondering “great, but what do I wear to a fashion show?”. Well, the audience has you covered and the answer is…pretty much anything old Hollywood! The audience politely files out wearing everything from 1930s studded gowns a la Schiaparelli to a sparkling fringe to a dress covered in hearts with something strategically missing. Overall this is a fantastic example of Jeremy Scott’s creativity and the surrealist humor that defines Moschino. Even if fashion shows bore you to tears, I highly recommend any Moschino with Scott’s name on it. It’s always a great departure from the norm and this is one of the best shows I’ve seen in a while. Old Hollywood isn’t an unpopular source for fashion but this is one of the most comprehensive I’ve seen as far as aesthetics. Seriously, put your hair in some victory rolls and give this one a watch.
