Franco Moschino
Born: February 27, 1950. Italy

 

Francisco Moschino (born February 27, 1950 - September 18, 1994) was an Italian fashion designer remembered for his playful, quirky designs.

He was born in Abbiategrasso, Lombardy, Italy, located 14 miles from Milan. Before becoming a fashion designer, he attended Accademia delle Belle Arti in Milan to study fine arts in 1967 hoping to become a painter. To finance his studies, he worked as a freelance fashion illustrator. Eventually, his interest shifted from paints and canvases to fabric and tailoring. His fashion career began in 1971 when he became an illustrator for Gianni Versace, and continued to work for him for another six years. In 1977 he became a designer for Cadette.

He waited until 1983 to found his own company Moonshadow, and launched Moschino Couture in the same year. At first, he designed casualwear and jeans, but his line eventually expanded to lingerie, eveningwear, shoes, menswear and perfumes. In 1988, he launched a less expensive Cheap and Chic line. His designs were very innovative and unusual such as quilted black denim miniskirt with plastic fried eggs decorating the hemline, quilted jacket decorated with bottle tops, plug-socket drop earrings, and bodices made out of safety pins.

Because of this, he dubbed as Jean-Paul Gaultier of Italian fashion for his highly innovative designs but their styles are different; while Gaultier experiments with different fabrics and shapes, Moschino used basic forms and traditional methods. He also spoofed high fashion lines through his clothes. For example, "Expensive jacket" was embroidered in gold across the back of a cashmere jacket, and "Bull chic" on a matador-styled outfit. He also mocked the fashion classics such as the Chanel jacket with garish trimmings and details. Ironically, people rushed to wear his clothes, thus becoming successful and famous in the industry he satirized. Since his early death in 1994, Rosella Jardini has directed Moschino which continues to be popular to this date. His clothes are worn by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Alicia Silverstone, and Anna Friel.

Moschino is a part of the Aeffe fashion group and a designer and manufacturer of women's and men's fashion. It was originally created in 1983 by the late Francisco Moschino, and is well known for its "classico con twist", classical twist. The current head of design, Rosella Jardini, has been trying recently to tone down the humorous attitude established during the time of Francisco Moschino.

The look of Moschino garments is often referred to as classical, whimsical, and sexy, often filled with a dash of humour.

The brand consists of the two labels Moschino and Moschino Cheap & Chic, the latter being a more publicly available version of the former. There is also a menswear collection produced under the name Moschino.