Moschino

Franco Moschino, who died in 1994 aged fortythree, was a man who eluded any limitating definition - including (and maye above all), that of "fashion designer". Instead, he who built a fashion empire worth 210 billion Italian lira, was well known for his scathing remarks on fashion designers, fashion shows and fashion itself.

Moschino's yearly advertising campaigns were always accompanied by challenging and often impudent slogans like: "Warning: fashion shows can be dangerous to your health", "Life is many attitudes, so is fashion", and "Good taste doesn't exist". Provocation became his trademark, but also his way of telling people not to become victims of fashion, not to forego their individuality, not to let themselves be manipulated by what he called the evil media, and above all, not to forget the really important issues in life. Coherent was his personal commitment to ecology and to human and animal rights, which he expressed in his designs, in the choice of his materials and in his ad campaigns. The fact that his clothes were extremely well made by the AEFFE factory near Forli` didn't hurt, either. Moschino declared that he donated much of his income to charity organisations.

Artistic and iconoclastic from childhood, Franco Moschino happened upon fashion almost by chance: an odd-job man without a formal education, he became an illustrator for Gianni Versace until he broke away and in 1983 launched his own label. He started off with jeans and casual wear which was quickly followed by shoes, lingerie, highly original eveningwear, and ultimately a perfume. He is invariably described as an inventor and a "mad hat" but his perfect mastery of the classic rules of "cutting and stitching" are the base for all his creations which come to life with a strong touch of irony and a sharp sense of humour.

Fried eggs or plastic windmills are the buttons on his classic blazers, furry teddy-bears huddle together to make up a winter hat, golden safety pins adorn a sexy strapless evening top: his creations are recognisable at first glance. Among his most popular garments and accessories there are brightly printed waist-coats, rigid handbags (like the one favoured by Madonna), an incredible range of T-shirts, polka dot "Minnie Mouse" dresses and richly decorated black satin evening dresses.

The man who hated myths and taking oneself and one's clothing too seriously is sadly missed in the highbrow world of Italian fashion, but his trademark lives on and is much appreciated especially by the young, the original, and the young at heart.