Franco Moschino

The press enjoyed Moschino and often labelled him "The Court Jester" or "Fashion's Bad Boy".

Franco Moschino was born in 1950 in Abbiategrasso, a small industrial town, 14 miles away from Milan. He was a child who took refuge from provincial boredom by spending his time drawing. His father, who passed away when Franco was 4 years old, ran an iron foundry and young Moschino would arrange the heavy deposits of dust into different patterns. In 1967, Moschino went to the Accademia di Belle Arte in Milan and although he wanted to be an artist, he was diverted into the world of fashion. In order to finance his studies, he then started sketching some fashion designs and illustration commissions for fashion houses and magazines.

Moschino's work then caught the eye of famous designer Gianni Versace who was creating some collections for various Italian ready-to-wear houses between the years of 1971 and 1977. Moschino drew for all their publicity campaigns.
 
Moschino then waited till 1983 in order to found his own company called Moonshadow and then decided to launch Moschino Couture. His first show was packed with Milan's wildest groupies, who went crazy as his surrealist variations on fashion were paraded down the runway. By his second show, he was internationally known for his highly provocative and irreverent style, to the anger of Milan's established designers.
 
Five years later, Moschino's Cheap and Chic range was introduced, along with the fake-fur "For Fun" range of clothing, and the first Moschino boutique opened in Milan in 1988.
 
In 1994, Moschino also decided to launch Ecouture, an ecological collection that uses environmentally friendly fabrics and dyes.

The same year, Moschino died of a heart attack at the age of 44. Since the day of his death, his business has continued to grow and thrive, under the direction of friend and collaborator Rossella Jardini who joined him in 1981. The Moschino foundation, a charity set up to help HIV positive children, continues it's arduaous work, fulfilling Moschino's utmost wishes.
 

The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, later on held an exhibition called "Fashion - Italian Style" from February to April 2003. Franco Moschino was brilliantly represented by his surrealistic bra dress and a skirt which was entirely composed of bio-degradable grocery bags. Chanel once sued him for spoofing a perfume on a T-shirt.

The Style of Moschino

Moschino provided a fresh and very new approach to the world of fashion. It attempted to play down the high glamour and sophistication of fellow designers and made fun of their high prices. Moschino was known to be always clever, iconoclastic and ready to cause outrage with crazy ideas, but his clothes were still wearable and cut to the highest couture standards. Moschino was an expert tailor and liked to also make visual puns. He once created a dinner suit with a knife and fork appliqued on the bodice, his blazers had windmills for buttons, and his polka dot Minnie Mouse dresses were also very popular.

 

Find fashion by Moschino @ the following eshops: