The show notes for Adrian Appiolaza’s debut at Moschino were folded up like a paper boat and placed on each seat — a very on-brand idea that the Argentinian designer also employed as kooky hats for his finale looks.
The collection cherry-picked familiar witticisms from founder Franco Moschino — the wry slogan T-shirts, trompe-l’œil prints, those big question marks, peace signs, polka dots, pearls, ruffles and winks to Rue Cambon.
This was a rush job, and you could sense this. Backstage, Appiolaza — a seasoned No. 2 who has worked at Loewe, Chloé and Miu Miu — noted he only started officially at the beginning of the year, so he plowed straight into the archive, deciding to focus on the most iconic references.
Already you can see that Appiolaza’s approach is rooted more in restraint and real clothes than the sometimes wackadoodle, campy fashion send-ups of his predecessor Jeremy Scott.
“The idea of messages through clothing,” Appiolaza said backstage. “The idea was as well to play with real archetypes of ready-to-wear, creating characters.”
A noted collector of avant-garde fashions, Appiolaza said he mostly bought shirts and waistcoats from Moschino, and this personal connection was felt in his satin, belt-backed tailoring — a proposition also seen at Prada earlier in the day — and his black vests dangling garter clips, to which were attached empty stockings trailing like streamers.
The mustached designer stormed out for his bow with his French bulldog Nena on a leash, and the gesture somehow felt Moschino, too.
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