Moschino launches first collection and campaign by Adrian Appiolaza

Moschino is starting a new chapter. The flagship label of Italian fashion group Aeffe has released the first official images of its new style, masterminded by Adrian Appiolaza, who was named Moschino’s creative director at the start of the year. The Argentinian designer is launching his first ad campaign for Moschino on July 17, and the first collection he has designed for the label will be available in-store the same day. Appiolaza’s ‘0’ collection, for Fall/Winter 2024-25, was first shown in Milan in February.

 
It is a significant new beginning for both Appiolaza and Moschino, which is emerging from a lenghty transition period marked by several noteworthy moments. The first was the departure of Jeremy Scott in March 2023, after 10 years as creative director. Scott’s successor Davide Renne was appointed in October 2023, but sadly he died on November 10 2023, only a few days after taking charge of style at Moschino.
 
New creative director Appiolaza joined Moschino in January, and only had six weeks to design his first collection, but he managed to steer the label in a new aesthetic direction while preserving its identity. Appiolaza’s first collection featured plenty of references to Moschino’s signature elements, such as trompe l’oeil looks, denim, pearls, polka dots and clouds.

Quirky details and amusing twists also abounded, alongside various statement looks. Not to mention accessories, such as bread-shaped bags referencing the French baguette and the Milanese michetta. Appiolaza drew his inspiration from the label’s archives, and succeeded in re-capturing the spirit of founder Franco Moschino, creating directional, highly contemporary looks with new volumes. Each item seems to tell its own story, a far cry from trite logo-products.
 
“I’m very happy with the work Adrian is doing to give Moschino a new aesthetic and product identity, with the utmost respect for the label’s authentic, original spirit. When we presented the ‘0’ collection in February, and then at the co-ed show we staged in June, we realised there was a lot of enthusiasm among international buyers, who are extremely interested in the new direction the label is taking,” said Aeffe’s Executive Chairman Massimo Ferretti, speaking to FashionNetwork.com.
 
The collection will be distributed via Moschino’s 51 monobrand stores worldwide, as well as nearly 300 multibrand retailers. “We have high expectations for the label’s growth potential, and we’re already beginning to see the first fruits of our new direction,” said Ferretti.
 
To underscore this significant juncture, Moschino is planning to open two pop-up stores in September. One at the Galeries Lafayette in Paris, showcasing a selection of looks from the Fall/Winter 2024-25 collection. The other store, inside the main branch of the Lotte department store in Seoul, South Korea, will be dedicated to the Tie Me Bag, a new product Moschino is keen to highlight.
 

This classic-shaped handbag features a long removable belt, which can be wrapped around the bag several times. The Tie Me Bag, available in nappa leather and suede, comes in three sizes in black, dark brown, beige, as well as in a denim version, and is featured in the new campaign’s pictures. The small-sized version is priced at €950, the medium-sized one at €1,495.
 
Appiolaza’s first Moschino campaign features pics and videos lensed by Belgian photographer Willy Vanderperre and stylist-creative director Alastair McKimm, former long-standing editor-in-chief at cult British magazine i-D. Two fashion industry icons who have inspired Appiolaza, as he told FashionNetwork.com: “When I was living in London, I used to love the i-D culture. At school, I couldn’t help but admire what was happening in fashion in Antwerp. Being able to create my first advertising campaign with Willy and Alastair has allowed me to reconcile these two passions.”
 
The campaign will be released in print in September, and on Wednesday July 17 online and on Moschino’s social media channels. Notably on the label’s Instagram account, whose previous content was completely deleted the day before (July 16). The campaign depicts five Moschino women in Milan in different contexts. In full shopping mode at a grocery store, at a record store, in the rain, and strolling by some of the city’s iconic landmarks, such as the Duomo and the Velasca Tower. Visibly cheerful and full of life, these women seem to have been captured by Vanderperre’s lens in the midst of their everyday lives. They are wearing five key looks from the ‘0’ collection, for example a maxi dress with ample sky-blue ruffles dotted with clouds, a yellow mohair sweater with a giant smiley motif, and the superb trench coat that opened the show.
 
The collection’s in-store availability, bolstered by the campaign, has coincided with a specific training session for the shop assistants. Moschino buyers have been sent out to many of the label’s stores to present the new aesthetic, as well as the collection’s new looks and silhouettes, and how to combine the items with each other.

The shop assistants have also been able to use the micro-learning mobile app which Moschino deployed some time ago, in partnership with Yoobic, a US firm specialised in digital retail solutions. The app enables users to familiarise themselves with new collections, their various themes and inspirations, the colour palette, etc. by means of images, short videos and questionnaires to test learning levels.