In these last few years, I have found myself immensely entertained by the character of Fran Fine from “The Nanny”, a 1990s era American television sitcom. Together with my relatively recent appreciation for campy 1980s and 1990s fashion, as well as my itch to discover more designers of that time, it was only a manner of “when” and not “if” I fell head-over-heels for the irreverent originality of the Italian designer Franco Moschino. Recently, I happened to acquire a cut of authentic Moschino brand fabric and knew it was time to sew my newest designer fascination into being a reality! Combined with a pair of authentic Moschino pleather pants, I have an outfit that can let me carry the loud luxury and bold confidence of the brand in my very own interpretation.
This outfit comes just in time to celebrate the heavenly birthday of Franco Moschino on February 27th! Coincidentally enough, Moschino’s special Spring/Summer 2024 collection (unveiled September 2023 in Milan, Italy) is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its founding. I delight in the fact that I find myself perfectly poised to celebrate this anniversary in appropriately classic retro styling. All the classic trademark visuals are here in my outfit – there are hearts on my fabric’s branded print, and then the peace sign, the dairy cow, and the oversized “M” are zipper charms on my quality stretch faux leather pants. This set would not be at all complete without THE most classic Moschino symbol of all…a red heart shaped handbag (of which mine is admittedly a cheaper imitation). Humorously enough, such a purse is interchangeably a classic visual symbol of the character Fran Fine, aka Fran Drescher from “The Nanny” sitcom, who rocked a whole lot of Moschino over the course of the series! I feel like this set is totally something Fran could have worn. I do have some fluffy crazy hair to match her look, too. It makes my day to have an outfit that combines the Moschino brand with a Fran Fine flair!
I estimate the pleather pants to be from anytime between 1986 and 1999 while my Moschino fabric is from the late 2000 decade. This means my set bookends “The Nanny”, which aired for six seasons from 1993 to 1999, and my fabric comes after Franco Moschino died in September 1994 at the age of only 44. The cow charm on my pair of faux leather pants is the perfect (yet unsurprising) touch of irony and also one of my keys to dating this piece. A black and white dairy cow with the world map on its side was an icon of his, especially for the Spring/Summer 1994 10th anniversary show. However the cow could also have been inspired by the environmentally friendly “Eco-Couture!” line he launched in 1993, a year before his passing. I thought about these dates in comparison to what patterns I currently had on hand and picked something from 1989 in the designer-inspired NY NY McCall’s line of offerings.
Circa 1989 seemed appropriate as a pivotal time frame for Moschino, as well as for a peer from a different country – Patrick Kelly, the first (black) American Designer to rise to annals of Parisian Couture. Both of these men were outsiders who made their way into a system which needed their revolutionary outlook, yet which also looked down upon them as unwelcome. Where Kelly was pigeon-holed derisively as the “King of Cling”, Moschino was seen as an impertinent clown, their “Court Jester”. The two of them did liberally use similar themes, symbols, and imagery in their runway collections between 1988 and 1990. However, a black leather-look, fun zipper charms, and bright and playful heart symbols are all easy touch-points of specific comparison, not to mention the fact that some of the same supermodels (such as Pat Cleveland) walked down the runways of both their shows. After all, both designers made it subversively obvious that they were frequently spoofing the ideas of their fellow designers – such as Chanel, Schiaparelli, or even each other – to remake existing concepts for their own purpose. So, even with all the inspiration already attached to this set, I am happy to think it also has the vibes of my favorite Patrick Kelly!
Before I dive into the sewing process, let me clarify a bit about Franco Moschino’s brand as there are many subsidiaries, as well as pricing tiers, to add confusion to the mix. Moschino’s “Couture!” was his first line to be opened in 1983 and it established his classic crazy looks. In the next year, he introduced a short-lived line of menswear. Then, “Cheap and Chic” was begun in 1988. Its items were offered at a slightly lower price point than his couture pieces, without lacking the flair of the original Moschino ideals. (I do have an original piece from this line, to be shown in a future post!) “Cheap and Chic” garments have garish prints, bold colors, or oversized decorative elements all based on relatively simple design lines. “Cheap and Chic” was very popular for the way it used predictable styles in an unpredictable way, but was later consolidated into “Boutique Moschino” in 2014 when the brand’s creative director became a non-Italian, the American Jeremy Scott.
The line “Love Moschino” was introduced in 2008 under the direction of Rossella Jardini, Moschino’s friend who was responsible for continuing his brand after his death. “Love Moschino” used elements and color schemes reminiscent of the early days of Franco’s designing, but with more of a “Pop Art” air. This specific line is how most people probably know of the brand since it is even more popular than any other Moschino offerings, being budget-friendly with designs for men, women, and children. Such items mostly keep to fun and crazy prints that are on-brand, yet they also include interesting seaming and complex designs. “Love Moschino” was offered as a replacement for shuttering the “Moschino Jeans” brand, begun in 1986. I don’t know why the jeans brand wasn’t popular because I am head-over-heels for the pants I have! The pleather is so soft and stretchy, and comfortably lined in a soft woven cotton, with an excellent overall fit. To think of how I combined the end of one Moschino line with the beginning of another into one outfit just makes me smile to myself! Such an overall paradox gave me the title to my post. Since the beginning of his brand, Moschino was known for challenging conventions, insisting “Il buon gusto non esiste; Good taste (in fashion), doesn’t exist.” This famously weighty quote has been used front and center in many Moschino fashions over the years, and I feel it is still here in my set even if only referred to in my title.
For my own personal interpretation of a “Love Moschino” piece, I wanted to find a blouse or top design that kept the characteristics of the line, yet had my own taste. I needed a cropped bodice to end above my waistline to complement the high rise of my pleather pants. Such a design would emphasize my waist in a good way, I figured, since I do have and hourglass shape and the pants show my wide hips. Ideally, something a bit complex in design, yet with limited seams, would be perfect so as to keep the print visible. The fabric was interesting enough to confuse my situation, too. The printed exterior was a crepe finish and soft in hand yet the fabric was also thick and stable like a scuba knit. Would it gather nicely? Do I need a closure or could this stretch enough to slip on me? After much indecisiveness, I finally settled on this faux wrap design which had a little bit of everything on my checklist. It was only one part of an ensemble pattern that offers a top, skirt, and bolero with a “tribal” vibe. The sleeves are a comfortable cut-on dolman style to widen my shoulders and play along with my hourglass shape. The overall styling reminds of a 1950s throwback style. I love the 1990s for the way it reworked older vintage styles into a new interpretation.
THE FACTS
FABRIC: a polyester crepe-finish scuba knit fabric
PATTERN: McCall’s NY NY “The Collection” pattern #4309, year 1989
NOTIONS NEEDED: thread and some bias tape for facing the neckline
TIME TO COMPLETE: My top was finished in 3 or 4 hours on February 12, 2024.
THE INSIDES: Any scuba fabric or knit that is this dense does not fray, so the edges stay clean being left raw.
TOTAL COST: I only spent $25 for the fabric and found the pants for about $50. What a deal!
I simplified the pattern and resized it up at the same time. I eliminated the center back button closure and instead laid the back out on the fold. Tiny back buttons both seemed too fussy to try, besides being difficult to work into the thick fabric. I added just the bit of extra room that I needed along that back bodice foldline. Finally, I ditched the back darts to give me a smooth back that was one simple T-shaped piece. With the back perfected, the front was too complex to properly resize. Then, I added a bit of room to the front’s side seams to match with what I added to the back. As my last hack, I left out the given facing pieces along the neckline interior in lieu of a simple bias tape finishing. These adaptations worked out great and helped my design fit onto the one yard of fabric that I had on hand.
I am so happy that gathering the thick, unusual material succeeded enough to pull off the criss-crossed wrap front. This design is everything!! It was quite odd to sew and it looked weird on paper, but does wonders to slim my waist and make for a unique design that pairs so well with my Moschino pants. Nevertheless, I did find frustration by having to sew all but a few inner seams by hand. Even with trying several kinds of brand new needles there were snags or runs created by the machine catching, pulling, or pushing out the lofty crepe finish. It didn’t make sense, but I rolled with it. Lucky for me, this project still turned out to be a quick and easy. This was my last-minute secondary Valentine’s Day outfit to go out with my husband for dinner the day before that holiday. Moschino is the perfect medium to carry the spirit of Valentine’s Day into every day, as I spoke of in my previous blog post. There is no better way for the current me to get into a celebratory mood, anyway, than to put on some fun 1980s or 90’s clothing!
Moschino had an important interview with New York Magazine in December 1989 and I love how it is revealing of the outlook that drove his creativity. In that interview, he said one of his most famous quotes, “Fashion is absolutely tacky.” However, the rest of that 1989 interview is equally as interesting. “Being fashionable is not positive at all. Fashion kills people. As a designer, I have to convince you to change – to cut your hair, to change the frames of your glasses. You’re a creature of the fashion system, a Muppet, not yourself.” Another slogan, one of the highlights to his circa 1991 show, follows on this same idea – “Fashion shows can be dangerous for your health.”
I have found a benefit of being reliant on sewing my own handmade wardrobe is the way I feel no siren’s call to bow to the latest passing fad and have no dependency on what the Ready-to-wear industry tells me to wear. This freedom of thought is what Moschino seemed to be trying to teach with what he designed. I love that there is a designer who looks at the fashion world as being both a part of yet still apart from the system. Even though I come from a sewing-centered side of this same outlook, I feel that it is the best way to approach trends and work through them to stay true to your own sense of style. Especially through fast fashion and micro-trends of modern times, one can see how overly commercialized fashion can be dangerous to living as a self-confident, open-minded individual. One of his slogan posters said “Advertising can cause serious damage to your brain…and to your wallet.” The rise of social media has shaped an influencer culture that can be unhealthy for the mental and emotional well-being of those consumers. It is impressive that Moschino saw the toxic traits of the fashion system way ahead of the clear issues we have today. He used his position as an esteemed fashion designer to actually make a difference, too, until untimely illness took him away from the world.
I am a fan of Moschino due to his rebellious, campy, but overall loving, conscious, caring approach to fashion. Franco stood by his brand’s eccentricity from the beginning of its founding, saying, “Fashion should be fun and should send a message.” Camp is both earnest and lighthearted at getting dressed – it sees our daily routine as an opportunity to enjoy both finding personal expression and making a silent statement. As flippant as that may sound, it leaves the door of fashion open to let people be themselves with what they wear and not feel like they have to change or hide who they are to visually “fit in”. What can be more emphatic that this outlook?! “Life has many attitudes, and so is fashion” was yet another one of Franco Moschino’s many slogans…one with which I couldn’t agree more.
Have you noticed Moschino before, or are you already a fan, too? Do you agree with his “Il buon gusto non esiste”? Has my post inspired you to look into his wonderful variety of styles? Check out my Moschino Pinterest board here for some eye candy. Maybe you can simply relate to this post via Fran Fine. Drop a line if you concur that she is a standout 1990s fashion icon!!
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