Jeremy Scott’s men’s Fall and women’s Pre-Fall collections for Moschino—strutted out this evening on a set at Rome’s Cinecittà Studios—were high camp and just as clever. “It’s Fellini,” said the designer backstage, regarding the late Italian filmmaker. “It’s all the things I love about him, come to light . . . . There are exaggerations, off-duty showgirls, Casanovas. It’s surreal, it’s otherworldly.” Scott has long been committed to pomp. But analyze his work a bit further, and it’s the circumstance that really rings. His Fellini-inspired Roman parade felt, somehow, apropos of the greater moment—of a world where fools hold power, and hyperbole and excess are the new normal.
Scott called out characters from Satyricon, La Dolce Vita (which was filmed at Cinecittà), Roma (1972), and more. They came to life as women in herringbone tweed topcoats with starkly contrasting satin bows, tailored coatdresses with ancient font embroideries, flou in force, and chandelier earrings the size of actual chandeliers. For men, eccentricity was also front and center: trompe l’oeil sequined officer coats, a finely beaded lattice embroidery on a suit under a technical parka, and a spin on white-tie dressing—replete with a leather jacket and a tutu—all included. Pointing to a rose-red evening dress, Scott said, “That’s my baby Anita Ekberg” (Ekberg was the actress who famously waded into Rome’s Trevi Fountain in La Dolce Vita). These nouveau Fellini sketches were embodied by everyone from Teddy Quinlivan to Denek Kania to Jon Kortajarena to Nadja Auermann.
Not all of the fashion tonight was fresh-out-of-the-box original. But, when it comes to the intersection of style and pop cultures—be they fueled by the social media apps of now or the silver screens of Fellini’s era—few have as sound and confident a grasp in this business as Scott does. This show, with its high-piled wigs, little prince crowns, juxtaposed tones, and almost consciously falsified opulence further proved it through a chaotic, flighty sense of control. What he does is arch, but it’s both cinematically engaging and slyly smart (slash low-key biting). It does get you thinking . . . . What would Jeremy make if he went behind the camera?
