There are just a handful of people, I find, who can convert something playful, absurd and dastardly colorful, into high fashion pieces. Ever heard of a teddy bear perfume, a chandelier ball gown, or a Spongebob inspired two piece? I know, sounds ridiculous right? But all these things have contributed to crowning Jeremy Scott the king of Camp. So what happens when he leaves the brand he so deeply loved and connected with?

On the 20th of March 2023, Jeremy Scott made an announcement that shook the fashion industry: he was going to be leaving Moschino, the brand synonymous with camp, after ten years at the helm; ten years of creating magic for the maximalist fashion consumer. There were speculations everywhere, with reactions, thoughts rolling in from commentators and columnists all over. But that was expected, I mean, you can’t be the man that created the iconic winged sneakers and just make such a major move without the gurls asking why. An end of an era indeed, he did not mention what was next for him. But hinted that he definitely wasn’t saying goodbye to fashion. Before we get into what is next for the fashion house, let's take a quick detour to buff up your fashion knowledge on the man that is Jeremy Scott.

Born August 8 1975 in Kansas, Missouri, he grew up partly on a farm and partly in a suburb. Not letting the bleakness of his early life shape his interests, at the young age of 14 he discovered high fashion. Using that passion as a propeller, he began sketching in his notebooks and studying the language that held power in the fashion world, French. This dedication paid off and he got into Pratt Institute in New York, a college for art and design, in 1992. He always talked about his difficulties schooling there as he had no prior knowledge on design and sewing. However, he scaled through and moved to Paris after his graduation.

Due to his lack of connections, he struggled to get his name out there. It wasn’t until he came across a random French kid that things began to change. He got the advice he used to propel himself to fame, “If nobody’s gonna hire you, do it yourself.”

This motivated him to create his own runway collection in 1996 under his eponymous label. The show was based on the J.G Ballard book and David Cronenberg film, Crash. Seeing models in repurposed items such as garbage bags, paper hospital gowns and

scraps of fabric from a flea market. This paid off as it brought him the Venus de La Mode Award for “Best designer of the year”. An award he received again the next year. His collection also got exhibited in the high end Parisian store, Colette, which lead to more recognition.

After his third collection, he had gotten the attention of the then French Vogue editor along with the influential French stylist, Carlyle Cerf de Dudzeele. This recognition by powerful names, along with celebrity buy-ins like Björk, Katy Perry, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Selena Gomez, Beyoncé, etc, he was able to build a cult following based off his style that seamlessly blended streetwear, camp and high fashion. However he was still perceived as “unserious” and “not commercial” by the fashion big wigs.

This impression changed overtime as he got more successful and worked with bigger brands such as Longchamp and Adidas -where he created the iconic winged sneakers-. Soon after, offers for creative director began rolling in, however he declined all till the house of Moschino came calling.

Mr Scott has always been a fan of Franco Moschino, seeing a lot of himself in the designer along with their similar views of fashion as a means of protest. This made him more endeared to the brand as it was one that represented who he was. So when he was presented with the opportunity in 2013, he grasped on to it. Now here we are 10 years later with the staggering news of his exit.

Now, onto the million dollar question, what’s next for Moschino? Sadly as I’m just an outside spectator, I lack the inner tea of the industry, save for thorough internet scrubbing that has led me down some deep rabbit holes. Hence, all I have to offer are predictions and ideas. Now, there are two ways the brand can go; completely redefine their brand identity, or choose to maintain it. An absolute overhaul of everything they’ve done before. Or, they can choose to not take risks and maintain their identity.

Redefining their brand identity.

The bold move. This will instantly set their new creative director away from Jeremy’s large shadow and allow him to create without comparisons. But would this be good for the brand? Such dramatic overhaul will lead to loud press with fashion consumers piqued

to see what comes next. However, large media attention doesn’t always translate to brand success. Like the controversial Ricardo Tisci for Burberry, where his pivot from the brand’s British heritage was not received well, and ultimately ended in his step down five years later. Or it could go well, like Tom Ford for Gucci, where he saved the brand from bankruptcy and put its name on the mouths of every young chic woman of the late nineties and early twenties.

However, this approach takes time to materialize, considering you’re communicating in a different way to an already existing audience. Of course, customers will be lost, but new ones who understand the direction will gravitate towards the brand. This hand-off process could take about 5-6 seasons before it can attain commercial success.

Maintaining their brand identity

The safe approach. This would mean the new creative director has to build on already existing work. So we’re talking more archive pulls and frequent homage pays. However, in a world where the current fashion audience is fixated on realism and more minimalistic designs. It would be hard to get a similar cult following like Jeremy garnered when he rose to more prominence in a 2013 “Katy Perry rules pop” era. Hence, less loyalty from customers which will ultimately transfer to lower commercial success. Take for instance Bertrand Guyon for Schiaparelli, he spent all his time there trying to recreate what Elsa did and just kept falling flat at launching the brand back to prominence. This led to him being dropped after 4 years.

In conclusion, Moschino has a loud brand message, so whatever approach they take will be a difficult one. Either they get torn to shreds for breaking the hearts of their long time customers when they redefine their image. Or the new creative director gets picked apart when he fails to fill the large shoes of Jeremy. This hand-off might be one of the most anticipated in a while.