Nostalgia is big business in the fashion industry, and no one appears to know that better than Jeremy Scott at Moschino. For the Italian brand’s AW19 collection, the creative director transformed the catwalk into a game show, just like The Price Is Right.
If your memory needs jogging, the very simple, bizarrely entertaining TV show sees contestants guess the prices of products to win money and prizes. In the Eighties the English version was hosted by Leslie Crowther, before Bruce Forsyth took charge in the mid-Nineties.
The show was replicated at Milan Fashion Week, with Moschino’s set showing off prizes including a Ferrari, exercise equipment and a washing machine.
Glamorous models, dressed head-to-toe in Moschino, presented the products and stalked the catwalk.
“It’s hard not to be a fan of game shows growing up in America,” Scott told WWD backstage. “You see glamorous girls in glamorous outfits and it’s all about the luck of chance.
“It’s a very American idea that you can turn your life around, go from rags to riches with that lottery ticket or by selling that screenplay. There is something about it that captures the imagination.”
While Scott is in charge of a heritage Italian fashion house, it’s characteristic of him to bring a healthy dose of Americana to his designs.
The outfits were just as kitsch and OTT as we’ve come to expect from Moschino. There was a lot of gold on display, and numerous references to money – think dollar signs, gold coins and cash printed all over the clothes. And pretty much anything that wasn’t focused on money, was doused in glitter.
The Nineties-inspired, unashamedly glam looks matched the camp game show backdrop perfectly. Accessories were just as brilliantly excessive, with bags shaped like champagne bottles and rolled up dollar bills.
Perhaps the most outlandishly nostalgic outfit was a cape designed to look like a TV dinner, featuring a tray with steak, gravy, peas, carrots and mashed potato.
Wearing these glittery outfits and showing off the products were some of the biggest names in fashion, including Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber and Irina Shayk.
And in terms of beauty looks, there was no subtlety – it was all uber-glam. It would seem Scott trusts in Dolly Parton’s classic mantra: “The higher the hair, the closer to God.”
Moschino’s outfits might not be for everyone, but you can’t deny that Scott really knows how to put on a show.
