It is no secret that I think much of Jeremy Scott’s work, particularly in the 2010s, is derivative (to be generous about it). Since becoming the creative director of Moschino in 2013, he was tasked with revitalizing the brand with the youth culture and cool cachet it had in the early 1990s. He got the youth part kinda right, but to what end?
So far, Scott has brought the “cool” by imbuing the line with near-universally recognizable corporate branding: Barbie (harking back to an earlier Scott collection), McDonalds, Spongebob Squarepants and, with the Fall 2015 collection that Katy Perry’s modeling in her new ads, Looney Tunes—basically drawing on the heartfelt and pure memories of every kid who loved Space Jam and selling our vintage nostalgia back to us at a 2000 percent markup.
But whatever, those are just logos, and ironic consumerism is, in itself, very ‘90s—and of course fashion is self-referential, particularly in an era of such strong revivalism, though I think there is a difference between referring to a style and just xeroxing it wholesale. The part where it seems particularly craven is the way Scott drew on those self-same hip-hop styles and presented them as though they were fresh, without context, often in a way that is corny. See above, the Krylon graffiti dress and handbag Perry wore to the Met Gala this year (for some reason), which is modeled in what appears to be just about the the last corner of North Williamsburg (Southern Queens?) that remains unsullied by venomous condominiums and graffiti cleaners. (I am very glad they did not find my apartment building.)