At Moschino, there’s no such thing as too much camp. Jeremy Scott started his spring-summer 2023 collection with a bunch of looks that nodded to Yves Saint Laurent’s signature silhouettes, and ended with over-the-top eveningwear. But that wasn’t just that. One thing connected these two parts: inflated, plastic pool toys, which were everywhere. “Everybody’s talking about inflation,” the designer said backstage. “The cost of everything’s going up: housing, food, life. So I took inflation into the collection.” He wasn’t talking about rising hemlines or oversized volumes either. Every look save for a small handful had some sort of inflatable detail, be it a heart-shaped collar or hemline or “broken heart” lapels, one half on either side of neatly tailored jackets. “Sometimes we feel like we’re drowning,” Scott continued, acknowledging the bad news stories clogging our feeds. “I’m sure you do. I know I do. But no matter what is going on, we have to save space for joy, right? The darker it is, the lighter I have to be.” Making good on that promise, he embellished his evening looks with pool floaties. The most inspired of the bunch included a strapless purple column cinched at the waist with the deflated ends of a pink raft, its pneumatic ends creating a train, and another strapless number that was accompanied by a Lilo stole. By the end, Imaan Hammam’s look was more of a floatation device than gown, but that was Scott’s point. Anyone who could use a little buoying up, Scott’s your pool boy.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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