January 9, 2019 |
Lights, camera, Moschino! And so to Rome where Jeremy Scott called us to Sound Stage 10 at Cinecitá, the legendary film studios where Fellini filmed La Dolce Vita. Cinecittá is a place where fantasies become realities and this joint Moschino women’s Prefall and men’s Fall show, had all the makings of a blockbuster. What’s the first rule of epic showmanship? Don’t get hung up on historical accuracy. “Let’s call it artistic licence,” said Scott backstage of his flagrant blurring of Rome’s eras – bending time often in one outfit. What would Mary Beard say about a sinuous blood-red gown, worn with a gold centurion breastplate? The sets referenced Rome’s historic Caracalla baths and Fellini’s decadent 1950s version of the city. And why not? Ancient Rome and Fellini’s Rome were both deliciously promiscuous places (was it a coincidence that Sandra Milo one of Fellini’s glamorous mistresses was guest of honour?). Put them together and you’ve got one hell of a party.
Latin inscriptions snaked over Italian tweeds and tailored coats were cinched with huge satin bows on both boys and girls. Scott paid homage to Rome’s Alta Moda couture heritage, heavily referencing the golden age of Italian fashion with dramatic swagged gowns and opulent, Renaissance inflected bodices.
The models, with their towering wigs (some, originals from the Fellini archive) and grand gowns, looked like extras from Satyricon, 8 ½, Casanova, Roma and La Dolce Vita. Film studios are surreal places. You never know what crazy characters you might see – an idea that played to Scott’s strengths. He injected streetwear into the mix with silken tracksuits encrusted with glittering skeleton embroideries inspired by Italian relics. From butch ballerina boys to sequin, renaissance sex doll girls, this show had a surreal, carnivalesque frivolity. The best thing? Scott managed to persuade legendary supermodel Nadja Auermann back onto the catwalk. She closed the show in a fringed flapper look complete with an ostentatious ostrich feather headdress. She’s still got it. So has Scott. Talk about a happy ending.
