“There’s artwork on every panel,” said Jeremy Scott after his Moschino Pre-Fall show, which was presented simultaneously with his men’s Fall collection in London. And it was true—while he’s always been a Pop provocateur, an embracer of Technicolor excess and nastiness, the clever specificity of these clothes lent verisimilitude to his sound-off: “It’s probably the collection where I spent the most time thinking about placement.” What that means: It read as a more designed (as opposed to merchandised) Scott-Moschino lineup, its ’90s club kid wasteland leaving, in its hangover, plenty to covet.
As with the men’s, the runway opened with simple shapes—a Bowie-esque skinny suit (RIP), a faux-quilted bomber jacket, high-waisted jeans—but they were all treated with shock-bright paint, trompe l’oeil creases, and rivets enhancing the special effects. Scott called this his “shadow” series. When de-styled, one could see any of these pieces mixed in with tamer, offsetting separates. This section progressed to more layered silhouettes that were smattered, riotously, with motifs from the subversive British artists Gilbert & George. The duo let Scott appropriate imagery from their early work, such as the stained-glass-colored crosses used on an MA-1 jacket worn by Ruth Bell. (These also appeared on a go-go dress sported by Jourdan Dunn at the finale.) Some bits, while retaining their directness in pattern, were “collaged”—“new hybrids,” as Scott called them. Tartan skirts with jersey insets and hoodies with silken panels and slogans that read “Power,” “Fear,” “Life” stood out. In conclusion: No one does cheap trick look-at-me like Scott, but it was encouraging to see an amplified creative acumen behind all the click bait.
