In anticipation of the upcoming Costume Institute exhibition, “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” we’ve digitized collections from which pieces were selected for the show or catalog. This collection was presented in February 2000 in Milan.
“Witch one?” was the query scrawled across the set of this lighthearted Moschino show inspired by The Wizard of Oz. The first model carried a house-shaped handbag, and her otherwise straightforward gray pencil skirt was appliquéd with a dog resembling Toto. Other references to the story included striped “witchy” stockings worn by models, pairs of mannequin legs sticking up from the floor, and oilcan hats à la the Tin Man. Inspired by the famous ruby slippers were sparkly shoes, capes, and dresses flashing with sequins. Western cowboy looks and flying-nun ensembles were puzzling outliers.
Unlike Franco Moschino, his successor Rossella Jardini didn’t assume the role of commentator and critic, though she preserved the brand’s humor in a rather straightforward and mostly surface way. The campiest piece in this collection, according to the Costume Institute, was perhaps also the most poignant: an iron-shaped purse that could be seen as a nod to Franco Moschino’s white button-down shirt (also included in “Camp: Notes on Fashion,” from Spring 1991) that featured iron “burns” and the punny legend “Too Much Irony.”
