April 24, 2025 |
In a Paris studio scattered with fabric scraps, vintage porno mags and cut-up neoprene mini dresses, Daniel Bosco is finding glamour in chaos. The designer behind I <3 Shopping by Daniel Bosco is in their element – surrounded by the messy beauty of experimentation, sex, heartbreak and humour.
“I’m great,” Bosco tells me, fresh off a Paris Fashion Week performance with Amsterdam’s The Patchwork Family (“an upcycling collective working to support young designers who share their belief that there is nothing sexier than authentic queer diversity and sustainability”). “It was amazing to work alongside other performers, designers, drag artists and creatives.” For the show-slash-party, they designed one of the standout performance looks – a high-camp explosion of love, heartbreak and lipstick-kissed glamour. “Think classic red hearts and big juicy kisses,” they explain, “inspired by the feeling of finding yourself sexy again after heartbreak.”
The French Kiss Condom Mini Dress Collection
Bosco’s world is dripping in visual punchlines and emotional punch. From their now-iconic French Kiss Condom Mini Dress to cheeky accessories like condom pillows, matching bags and actual, usable condoms, their designs flirt with the absurd while never straying too far from raw sincerity. “The brand and website are really centred around experimenting,” they say. “It’s more than just a fashion label – it’s a lifestyle of trash, camp, humour and being authentic.”
Raised just outside Toronto in a family of Italian-Canadian shoe importers, Bosco’s relationship to fashion began on the warehouse floor. “I actually hated fashion and dressing when I was younger,” they admit. “It was all organizing samples [and] packing boxes… the unglamorous side of things.” Dreaming instead of becoming a chef, they found joy in avant-garde plating and the intensity of the kitchen – the hands-on chaos that later shaped their design ethos.
After ditching the apron for fabric shears, they studied at Toronto Metropolitan University before landing at Central Saint Martins, where they finally fell in love with fashion. “I was suddenly designing fashion with a capital F; huge sculptural pieces, fully styled looks, creating the images as well as the clothing,” Bosco says.
Julia Fox, Tayce and Chappell Roan wear I <3 Shopping by Daniel Bosco
Their signature style? Call it couture through a queer lens. Camp, irreverence and bold femininity collide in Bosco’s collections – an homage to Italian aunties with massive hairdos and attitudes to match. “They’re the women we emulate in drag, celebrate in camp and fantasise about being,” Bosco says. “These women are my real life John Waters‘ characters or Sophia Loren roles. They’re covered in cheetah print, hair done up to heaven, cooking pasta over a gas lit stove wearing diamonds and gold.”
The humour running through their work is as intentional as the cinched-in silhouettes. “Humour has always been my weapon,” they tell me. “I’m quick with the jokes, always getting myself into the funniest or worst situations and daydreaming my life away. Storytelling-wise my humour comes from my real life experiences – a chaotic family dinner, an icon I’ve always looked up to, an awkward breakup.” Looking to camp icons like John Waters, Patrick Kelly and Franco Moschino to understand how they can push everyday ideas into the absurd and irreverent, they add, “My personal taste is raunchy, messy, over the top – offensive, even. I love to talk about my life in ways that can relate to others, and for me humour has been a natural way to do this. Humour can be political, emotional, deep – my message is about connecting with my community and really living the fantasy we all crave.”
‘I Asked God for a Baby. He Sent Me a Diamond’ Daniel Bosco MFA Collection
Their viral Donatella Dress, made during a Parsons x Versace collaboration, paid tribute to the platinum-haired icon herself – and earned Bosco a place on the radar of stylists and fashion obsessives alike. More recently, the condom dress collection was pulled for Julia Fox, Tayce and Chappell Roan’s Gov Ball look, sealing their cult-favourite status in the fashion underground.
Their collaboration with The Patchwork Family represents the designer’s deeply held values around queer visibility and sustainability. “We share a ‘make it work’ attitude,” Bosco says. “They are so unapologetic about who they are. Their team, like mine, is made of the queer community and everyone is involved in every aspect of the show/performance.” For Bosco, working within this collective structure echoed their design philosophy: work fast, embrace chaos and always stay open to change.
I <3 Shopping by Daniel Bosco x The Patchwork Family
The PFW performance itself – a campy spectacle soundtracked by Liza Minelli’s Cabaret – told the story of heartbreak and glamour through choreography, drag and design as The Patchwork Family performers “canned canned, blew kisses, drank martinis and smoked, all dressed as a sexy, giant heart and a set of sparkly full lips,” according to the designer. Inspired by vintage films – ”especially the ones starring Shirley Maclaine and Jayne Mansfield,” – Bosco found his footing. “Something about glamorous women breaking hearts – made me feel so powerful,” they explain. “But it was the latter process that really interested me – that post heartbreak moment when you stop feeling bad for yourself and start to find yourself again. It’s dancing in your room as you get ready for a first date, nights out with your closest friends and rediscovering what makes you special.”
Looking ahead, Bosco promises new drops, new collaborations and a new studio space to dream even bigger. “Every day is a new day for me,” they say. “I just think back to little Daniel, living in suburban Canada and how far I’ve come. I’m thankful I get to do what I love and cannot wait to show you all some new work soon.”
Photography courtesy of Daniel Bosco.
Daniel Bosco
