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No mask and social distancing were required for the attendees to the Moschino Spring Summer 2021 collection — and the reason is genius! The brand’s Creative Director, Jeremy Scott, partnered with Jim Henson Creative Shop to substitute models and guests with marionette dolls. The Italian luxury fashion house presented 40 looks in scaled-down pieces of the new collection.
“The best thing I could do for everyone who is stressed about the election, the pandemic, social unrest, and the future was to give the gift of fantasy and take us away from all of it for a few minutes; let us enjoy this little fashion world of ours,” Scott told Vogue. According to the publication, weeks before lockdown, the designer knew he wanted to launch an haute couture collection. “I was thinking about how that is such a human, emotional, tactile thing: time, dedication, and the connection to design history,” the designer said. However, after the pandemic hit and quarantine became mandatory, he realized he needed other options.
“What would be the best way for me to give the same experience that you’re used to, coming to see my shows live?” Scott reflected. “How could I give you that whimsy, that magic, that fantasy?” Inspired by Théâtre de la Mode, a French touring exhibit of fashion mannequins crafted by top Paris fashion designers after World War II, Scott concluded that his next fashion show would be made out of Muppets. “A Moschino wink-and-nod to the fact that in order to begin anew, you have to start small,” the brand said in a statement.
To avoid using unfamiliar faces, Moschino and Creature Shop transformed well-known fashion models into 30-inch puppets. The guests also were known figures of the industry transformed into dolls. Among them was an Anna Wintour and Hamish Bowles marionette. The miniature — but expensive — show had a scaled-down runway set with violins playing in the background. A Jeremy Scott-inspired figure also “walked” at the end of the show wearing a crown and a Moschino T-shirt. “In April, I had to pull the trigger and say, I have to stay with this, even if everything goes back to normal and everyone else has [runway] shows again,” Scott revealed.
The marionette dolls modeled carefully reproportioned garments that span from a little cocktail gown, tailored black skirt suits, to an 18th-century decorated bustier dress.
As reported by the fashion magazine, Scott hopes that people will start yearning for couture after the pandemic. “People are like ‘Sweatpants forever!’” Scott said. “But I love exciting things that are one of a kind and refined. We’re all desperate for that. I constantly kept getting dressed up every day, even if I weren’t seeing people. It’s part of who I am.”