The Story of Moschino and Jeremy Scott

Moschino was founded in Italy by Franco Moschino in 1983. It became quickly a brand that was worth following. It was original, innovative and had campaigns that raised social issues. That was at least unusual for the time period. It was shocking and people loved it!

Franco died in 1994 at age 44. Rossella Giardino took over meanwhile and she eventually brought Jeremy Scott as Creative Director in 2013. This was a great decision as Jeremy understood the uniqueness of the brand and further made it more distinct.

Who is Jeremy Scott?

Jeremy grew up as a rather simple kid, on a farm in Kansas City. He comes from a humble family and took an interest into art from an early age. He loved art and cartoons so he thought he will be a cartoonist when he was older. Little did he know he will be much more than that right?

At 14 he finally noticed the world of fashion and the creative place fashion is coming from. He later on started creating his own looks and was wearing them in high-school, where he got a lot of backlash for it. Let’s face it, in today’s times we appreciate someone that is different, but back then it was not so easily accepted. He felt like people were trying to oppress him for the way he was dressing and for being different in general.

After graduating high school, he decided he will go to New York. He was rejected by FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) on the basis that he wasn’t creative nor talented. Crazy if you ask me!! Luckily for him, Pratt Institute got his message, got his style and they took him in.

Brief Paris Experience

Not long after that he decided to go to Paris where he encountered many hardships in the effort of ‘making-it’ in the world of fashion. With no home and only rejections from the Parisian fashion houses, he decided to give it a shot and have his own fashion show. In spite of having succeeded that and making a good impression, he realized Paris was not the place for youth culture. It was the home of renowned fashion houses such as Dior and Chanel, but he would have always been the outsider American boy. One that doesn’t fit into a certain pattern, doesn’t cater for the masses. Let’s face it, his designs were far away from the simple ‘Little Black Dress’ concept of Chanel, or the slick fitter YSL suit.

He returned to USA where he would prove there was a culture for him and a stage that he belongs to. That was indeed at Moschino, where he famously printed on a T-Shirt the message ‘I don’t speak Italian, but I do speak Moschino’. Fabulous!!

Why Jeremy Scott fits Moschino

Jeremy Scott took the influence of pop culture to another level when creating his lines. He created a collection to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Candy Crush Saga. He also partnered up with Mattel’s Barbie and launched one of my favorite collections of all time, in 2016. In his first collection with Moschino, he took inspiration form montane things, such as McDonald’s with all sorts of accessories resembling the real life products we get in the fast-food chain. He made garments with nutritious fact printed all over them and bags that resemble a regular chips bag. I mean common, that is not something you see every day! That is what made and still makes Moschino unique. Jeremy proved he understood the brand and he was in many ways very similar to Franco Moschino. He matched his humor, but most importantly, he made the brand relevant again. He understood the culture and had the support of many artists, such as Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Rihanna.

Moschino Turnover

The brand Moschino belongs to AEFFE, which is an Italian Fashion Group. As a singular brand, Moschino is struggling at times with a balance between net profits and losses (according to Statista). But the group overall has good results and especially on the domestic market. Italian market is the main contributor for the group sales, but Germany, UK and Spain are also growing as a market share within the group, in 2018.

In 2019, the group presence in Asia  and Rest of the World has increased, amounting to 26% of their total revenue. Domestic market has decreased compared to the previous year.

We all know how 2020 was a disaster for all brands, but Moschino and the AEFFE Group have all chances to grow in 2021. I for one, am excited to see Moschino with all it’s sub-brands grow further and further.

Moschino as a Brand

Unlike other high-end brands, Moschino has 3 main branches that fit every budget. First is the main Moschino brand that we discussed above. Second is the former Moschino Cheap & Chic, now called Boutique Moschino. This is still great quality, but on a lower price point compared to the main Moschino branch. Lastly but not least, we have the Love Moschino line which is very playful and colorful and is the most affordable of them all. Love Moschino has also a lot more accessories than the other lines.

My second favorite Moschino collection (after the aforementioned Mattel’s Barbie in 2016), is the Fall 2020 Ready-to-wear collection. This was inspired by the French Revolution and centralized around Marie Antoinette, which we all love.

Fragrances

Besides clothing, Moschino created some very funny looking fragrances. For instance, the Fresh Couture Eau de Toilette resembles a household spray cleaner, launched in 2015. Previously, Scott launched the ‘I Am Not A Toy’ perfume in 2014, which was in the shape of you guessed it, a Teddy Bear!

Favorite Accessory

My favorite accessory of Moschino has to be the amazing Biker Bag in Nappa Leather. It has such a unique shape and comes in many different colors. If you’ve been reading some of my previous articles, then you know by now I am a sucker for pink. So of course, my top pick is the below hot pink, with gold zippers and cooler than ever look.

What do you think? Did you know all these facts about Moschino? Do you love the brand as much as I do?

If you are interested in knowing more about Jeremy Scott, I recommend the Netflix documentary ‘Jeremy Scott: The People’s Designer’

Make sure to leave your thoughts in the comment section!