Moschino

MILAN, September 23, 2008
By Nicole Phelps
The giant gowns that formed the backdrop at the Moschino show were an early clue that Rosella Jardini and her team were thinking big—at least in the literal sense. The next clue came when the first girl walked out in a black-and-white dress in an oversize harlequin print topped off with an enormous bow at the neck and, above that, a towering bouffant updo. Bows also decorated large top-handle leather bags, but they weren't the only detail blown up to exaggerated proportions. Ruffles and roses were in full effect, the former spilling down a cocktail number or arranged in tiers on a drop-waist frock, and the latter punctuating the waistline of a mint-green satin plunge-front jumpsuit or the back of a black-and-white floor-length dress. Hearts, a house signature, were a recurring motif as well—as rhinestone clasps on clutch bags or as an almost unrecognizable white graphic on a black shift dress (it was flipped upside down). But overall, there wasn't as much heart as usual in this overlong and somewhat repetitive collection, which is usually such a reliable source for wit and whimsy.