Waiting for next season is so “last season,” darling! Well, that is according to Jeremy Scott and Moschino. Ever since the designer took the helm at the famed Italian fashion house, we’ve been in a whirlwind of change. However, the world isn’t just looking at how Scott is changing Moschino’s fashion line, we’re all also noticing how he is changing the roll out of seasons.
For Moschino, it appears seasons are absolutely non-existent. For AW14, Moschino released Jeremy Scott’s first collection and it was all about “fast fashion.” No, that wasn’t just in reference to the McDonald’s logo ripoffs, it was talking quite literally about fashion appearing and disappearing as fast a McDonald’s cheeseburger. Before you could sneeze, Scott’s Moschino creations were being street style snapped every day, on every major blogger and fashionista from here to Timbuktu. He released the collection immediately, not only to the who’s who in fashion, but also to the world. The collection was on sale immediately, thereby slapping fashion seasons in the face and declaring Moschino as a brand that played by no rules but its own.
For spring summer 2015 in Milan, Moschino once again showcased a collection and once again made it available to purchase and wear the night it hit the catwalk. And wear it they did. We’ve seen Moschino’s new Barbie theme everywhere once again. Seasons? What seasons? Jeremy Scott is the first designer to design in the actual moment. He’s providing a vision and then delivering on it as instantly as a hot instagram picture (which incidentally is what spreads these Moschino trends like wildfire). Even the Moschino store windows were changed instantly (see above, the new London window, which sparked the idea for this whole essay).
Fashion has been in a state of turmoil for seasons now about how exactly to handle social media’s display of fashion week. We all see everything instantly, as it appears on the catwalk, and the public want their fix. Remember the hula hoop bag Chanel did a few seasons ago? The bag was actually put into production after the general public went absolutely mad for it on social media. Designers and design houses are sitting up and taking notice of the instant reaction to their shows and using the information shared to shape their production runs.
However, high street chains are also taking notice and grabbing the looks and playing the trends out long before we can get our hands on the real deal – therefore creating a rather difficult selling point for the big dogs in fashion. Certain bags, style of jeans, prints or accessories become completely passé months before they move into production and hit store fronts. Moschino and Scott, those clever boys, have found a way around it all and deliver straight to the eager consumer.
Putting this all in context, Burberry were actually the first to allow the world to buy straight from the catwalk, with a delivery time of six weeks after the show; House of Holland this season allowed members of the public to buy as the catwalk was taking place; and several other brands, scattered around the globe, allow for a more interactive runway buying experience during fashion week. The question here, however, is whether or not the Moschino method is the start of something new and great, or will the rest of fashion refuse to budge and instead stay put in their delivery of goods six months after we’ve praised their prints on the catwalk?
Only time will tell, but there is a buzz and an urgency being created by all of this and there is a change afoot, that much is definite. Moschino is leading the way to a new world in fashion and buying into brands. Bravo, Jeremy Scott and team, for redefining the world of runway and retail.