Jeremy Scott’s fantastical collections don’t usually paint the picture of a designer terribly interested in current affairs — his front row might be of the moment, but his mind is exploring the outer reaches of the galaxy. This collection was different. “Our obsession with headlines, with salacious gossip,” was his starting point, he said pre-show, as he made last minute adjustments to the entirely monochrome lineup. “The new, false scenarios, clickbait. Really just jumping to false conclusions. Why are we doing that?”
Scott chose to express this as only he could, through a collection that was the most hard edged he’s done in years, but with his usual fun flourishes. “I did a lot of really frilly shapes,” he laughed, gesturing at the ladylike 50s shapes and swathes of chiffon. “Maybe because the subject was so hard, I wanted to do something really beautiful. With the bows, and this kind of manner.” This juxtaposition of hard news and soft shapes worked to great effect — stripped of its usual candy color, Scott’s vision was clearer than ever. “I collaborated with this artist Aleksandra Mir, who did all these hand drawn covers of The Post and The Daily. They’re screened over the chiffon, the sequins, and played with them and tried to make something beautiful, but still in a punk rock way with the clear plastic and the layers. You’re getting a new message.”
This season was also notable for its great outerwear — printed puffa jackets and trenches were worn to great effect with leather overalls, and the aforementioned prom dresses were toughened up by biker jackets. Scott’s most chic moment came near the end, in the form of a see-through shift in newsprint, hemmed with feathers, followed by chainmail mini-dresses that you could imagine any of his famous front row wearing (it would be too tempting not to don a dress emblazoned with “scandal” across the front). “Messages are getting mixed, mutilated and murdered, where people believe anything. To me it’s really sad, and something that we as a people need to address,” said Scott. What’s the wildest thing that he’s ever read about himself though? “We’re not going there,” he laughed. Evidently some things are not meant to be printed on chiffon.
