Moschino Cheap and Chic Fall 2012

If you're anything like me, you'll be asking yourself why Moschino Cheap and Chic is showing at London Fashion Week. (For those of you who don't know, Moschino and its offshoot are Italian brands and typically show at Milan Fashion Week.) But if you know anything about the Moschino Cheap and Chic aesthetic, you'll realize that choice does make sense. Let's go back to my last post about House of Holland, in which I began with a little paragraph about LFW. London Fashion Week is known for its "young, hip designers" who take advantage of their design freedom. Older, more classic brands (i.e. Chanel) feel a need to stay true to their brand DNA from years ago to maintain the interest of their customer base, but these younger designers and their recently launched lines are more able to experiment. And the latter are found at London Fashion Week, the epicenter of modern, hip, and unusual designs that are in many cases honestly quite mind-blowing for someone like me. This is where Moschino Cheap and Chic comes in: known for its fun, cheeky designs, this secondary line by Moschino has a signature quirky-chic aesthetic. And this is why Moschino Cheap and Chic fits in perfectly in London Fashion Week. Not convinced? Refer to the images from the Fall 2012 runway show below.

Images from style.com

Entitled "Make Up Your Life," the Moschino Cheap and Chic fall 2012 collection represents a way in which to find yourself through clothing. In the words of designer Francesca Rubino, "It means mash up your clothes to find your style and find the life you like. Times are hard, so we have to use clothes to have some fun." And this collection, like all of the Moschino designs, is undeniably fun. A weird but fun eye print shows itself on a fitted dress, among other pieces, and cardigans and pants mix pattern swatches together in a patchwork style to create unusual combinations that - believe it or not - work well. Larger-than-life ruffles and bows attached to floaty, partially sheer princess dresses are whimsically feminine. And no one could forget the lip imagery throughout the collection, whether formed with shiny paillettes or printed on a top. Of course, there were other stand-out pieces, such as a periwinkle biker jacket with cut-outs paired with a flamingo pink pleated skirt. 

The accessories paired with each look were beautiful: pointed-toe kitten heels and bright chain-strap bags. Hair was styled into voluminous bouffants, some with girly hair accessories, and make-up was luminously natural with bright lipsticks. 

Rossella Jardini and Francesca Rubino have presented a wonderful set of looks that stay true to the Moschino DNA but are also fresh, exciting, and pleasing to the eye. While the looks are definitely quirky, they are quite wearable for the fashionable risk-taker. After all, the Moschino girl has fun with her clothes. 

xoxo