Jeremy Scott is a conspiracy theorist—for the season, at least. His Fall starting point was a JFK conspiracy, the one conjecturing that President Kennedy told Marilyn Monroe aliens were real, that she was going to go to the press with the story, and that she was offed because of it—as was he just over a year later. The tale’s delightful ridiculousness (a Scott specialty) inspired a conspiracy theory of his own: that Jackie Kennedy was an alien herself, and responsible for both of their deaths. If you were wondering why a few of the models were painted extraterrestrial shades of orange, yellow, and aqua, now you know.
When it comes right down to it, though, this Moschino show wasn’t as out there as all that sounds. The boldly hued skirtsuits and pillbox hats—Kaia Gerber played Natalie Portman playing Jackie—were actually rather conservative in their formal 1960s matchy-matchyness. In any case, they were a far cry from last season’s tiny tutus and fishnet tights. After dark, Scott’s idea was to splice retro va-va-voom ball gowns with sleek silver beading. You’ve heard the hypothetical question, “Are you a Jackie or are you a Marilyn?” These were both. The hits here were the printed pieces Scott made in collaboration with Ben Frost, an artist and a kindred spirit who draws illustrations on advertising images and packaging. Elevated eye candy—quite literally in the case of Skittles packaging that said “Freckles” instead—these will speak directly to Scott’s fans.
The subtext was what made this show compelling. Scott is outspoken in his politics, and he’s strongly opposed to Donald Trump’s stance on illegal aliens. “I’m not anti-alien,” he said. “I don’t want to build a wall.” Scott’s all-inclusive, everyone’s-welcome-here sense of fun has won him a rabid fan base—both at home at his eponymous collection and abroad at Moschino. Our president would do well to learn a thing or two from him. Come to think of it, with a few tweaks, Melania could conceivably wear one of Scott’s monochrome First Lady–at–Area 51 looks. There’d be poetic justice in that.
