The Tamesis
A fashion genius with a wicked sense of humor, Franco Moschino was basically a prophet of trends that the rest of the world would catch up to decades later. In 1988 he launched the I Complici collection, which was less about clothing and more about his jovial everyday partners in crime, from colleagues to friends. The point is to pay homage to the beautifully imperfect, gloriously eccentric people around him, because perfection (except for perfectly tailored clothes, apparently) is boring to him. Fast forward to today, and Adrian Appiolaza is trying to maintain the same cheeky, playful spirit as we saw in Moschino’s Pre-Fall and menswear collections.
Appiolaza said he wanted to “tone down” the mood of the ’80s and imbue the collection with a wit that directly reflects today’s reality. Not only through inclusivity, through the casting of colleagues and friends of all ages and qualifications (at a time when the fashion world seemed to have forgotten about the issue, while the outside world found it more pressing and painful than ever), but also by weaving subtle, slightly bittersweet commentary between the collection’s many fashion propositions.
Take the smiley face, for example, one of Moschino’s most enduring graphic symbols of joy. “But what does that mean now?” Apiolaza asked. “Can you still smile at a time like this?” He didn’t want to get rid of his smile, but he refused to let it remain innocent and optimistic. So he created a skirt made entirely of smiley faces that flips over when it moves. Step by step, optimism suddenly sets in. The idea expanded to a range of T-shirts, down jackets and sweatshirts printed with upside-down smiley faces: Today, smiles no longer really mean happiness. It’s about survival, about holding on to a sense of humor as a coping mechanism. As the Italian proverb goes, ridere per non pianère – laugh so you don’t cry.
Camouflage was also “desaturated,” this time for military bravado, and reimagined through aerial shots of green pastures, fields, and forests. Same camouflage concept, just less aggressive and more upbeat. The puzzle print found all over sweatshirts and T-shirts comes with a simple explanation: “Reality is confusing, fashion is confusing, and there always seems to be a missing piece that can’t be found.” Think of it as wearable chaos that fits the zeitgeist.
From the brand’s earliest days to today, each Moschino brand’s patchwork piece is both a tribute to its history and a clever attack on logomania, because if logos are inevitable, they can also tell a story. Then there was an evening gown printed with a country scene, cows and chickens, worn by an old friend of the house who had escaped the chaos of the city and entered country life. “Now,” Appiolaza said, “she can dress in a way that embodies her two passions: fashion and naturalness.”
In addition to its satire, the series embodies a more streamlined attitude. Appioraza cautiously called it “minimal” and immediately hit the brakes. “I don’t want to say minimal, because there’s nothing minimal about it,” he says, “but there’s something cleaner.” In this case, cleaner doesn’t mean quieter or tamer. This means editing without deletion, removing excess content while keeping the punchlines intact. Moschino has a lighter touch, more precise irony, and more thoughtful diction.
