Franco Moschino
Born: February 27, 1950. Italy

 

The press enjoyed Moschino and often labelled him "The Court Jester"  "Bad Boy" of fashion.

Franco Moschino was born in 1950 in Abbiategrasso, a small industrial town, 14 miles from Milan. He was a child who took refuge from provincial boredom by drawing. His father, who later died when Franco was 4 years old, ran an iron foundry and Franco would arrange the heavy deposits of dust into 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 fashion world. To finance his studies he started doing fashion designs and illustration commissions for fashion houses and magazines.

Moschino's work caught the eye of designer Gianni Versace who was creating collections for various Italian ready-to-wear houses between 1971 and 1977. Moschino drew for their publicity campaigns.
 
Moschino waited till 1983 to found his own company called Moonshadow and then launched 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 is introduced, along with fake-fur "For Fun" range, and the first Moschino boutique opens in Milan in 1988.
 
In 1994 Moschino also launches Ecouture, an ecological collection using environmentally friendly fabrics and dyes.

The same year, Moschino dies of a heart attack at age 44. Since his death, his business has continued and even flourished, 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 work, fulfilling Moschino's wishes.

Born: February 27, 1950, in Abbiategrasso, Italy

First break: Hired as an illustrator for a 1971 Versace publicity campaign

Company founded: 1983

Based in: Milan

Men’s diffusion lines: Accessories (ties, eyeglasses, watches) 1986, jeans (1986), fragrances (1987)

Selected awards: Annual Fragrance Foundation Award, Uomo Moschino for Men (2003), FiFi Award from the Fragrance Foundation for Cheap & Chic (1996)

Signature quote: “Good taste doesn’t exist.”

Worn by: Justin Timberlake, Jimmy Fallon, Colin Firth, Peter Owen

Authentic Moschino Jeans Shirt Bag Tops Dress and Clothes are available from a select number of websites.