Once you consider it, the answer to the question "Why is Moschino Cheap And Chic showing in London?" quickly becomes another question: "Why wasn't Moschino Cheap And Chic showing in London all this time?" The kooky-cute Italian label and the city's kooky-cute fashion crowd are a perfect match.
Before the show, creative director Rossella Jardini explained that she wanted international glamour and an international point of view. It's not clear whether the endgame is a generally higher profile—like the one Miu Miu got by breaking away from the Milano mother ship to Paris—but the move still says something about London's current energy.
The collection was named Make Up Your Life, a double entendre for actual makeup and a sort of exhortation to choose your own adventure through clothing. "It means mash up your clothes to find your style," said designer Francesca Rubino. "And find the life you like. Times are hard, so we have to use clothes to have some fun."
That mission was accomplished here, where the look assumed the general outlines of a fifties-era lady's wardrobe, but in patchwork lace, Muppet-y rainbow fur, candy-bright pleated chiffons, and what looked like a fancy silk gazar printed with scattered makeup pots. There were typical wink-nudge moments of visual wit, like the single black-sequined mustache on a shift printed with lipsticked faces. You have to marvel at the effect of context—the whole thing made perfect sense here. And when the denizens of go-go London go forth, ply their influence, and get photographed—our bet for Most Likely to Be Papped are the afghan-trimmed knits—that context could expand. Jardini and co. just might be on to something.
