What happened
The king of kitsch is moving on to his next adventure. On March 20, Jeremy Scott announced the end of his 10-year tenure as creative director of Italian luxury house Moschino, where he ushered in an era of campy collections and whimsical red carpet looks.
“I’ve had a blast creating designs that will live on forever,” Scott posted on his personal Instagram account in all caps. “As I close this chapter I am filled with excitement and anticipation and can’t wait to share with you all what I have in store for you next!”
The Jing Take
Since taking over the creative reins in 2013, Jeremy Scott has helped to carry on the legacy of late founder Franco Moschino, including his love of “colorful — sometimes eccentric — designs,” as the brand’s website states. By dressing Hollywood icons like Katy Perry and Cardi B, and playfully incorporating pop culture IPs into his pieces — including Barbie, Looney Toons, Spongebob, and McDonald’s — the American designer has helped propel the 40-year-old label to the forefront of popular culture and win over a new generation of consumers.
“Scott has penned a fundamental chapter in the legacy of the brand with his fearless and show stopping pop-camp style and incisive humor — true to the renowned codes of the House,” reads the brand’s press release.
Keeping ahead of Y2K and other nostalgia-based trends, Scott’s bold designs have bolstered the brand’s recognition in China, where luxury consumers comprise mostly of Gen Z and millennials, skewing roughly 10 years younger than those in Europe or the US. In 2021, parent company Aeffe paid 66.6 million euros to take full control of Moschino as well as its direct distribution in mainland China, which includes around 20 stores, reflecting both the attractiveness of the flagship label and its relevance to the Asia Pacific market.
“Jeremy Scott leaving Moschino is giving me the same feeling as when I first found out Alessandro Michele was leaving Gucci — it’s just incomprehensible,” wrote one Weibo user.
Moschino has yet to name a successor, and Scott has yet to confirm what’s next for him. However, on the heels of Alessandro Michele’s exit from Gucci, and Pharrell William’s appointment to Louis Vuitton — 2023 is shaping up to be the year of top-level reshuffles that is sure to keep the fashion world on its toes.
The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.