Moschino underlines playful collection with wake-up calls: Save our Sphere and Don’t be Silent

The Moschino runway collection for next fall and winter was both a celebration and a wake-up call, a mixed message underlined by the black confetti that rained down on the finale during Milan Fashion Week on Friday.

Creative director Adrian Appiolaza’s sweatshirt exhorted “Don’t be silent,” during his closing bow.

“The ethos of Moschino stems from joy, so I didn’t want to lose (that) sentiment. But I wanted to be also conscientious of the times that we live in,’’ Appiolaza said.

The overall tone of the collection was playful, with the brand’s engaging trompe l’oeil sleights of the eye.

Raw denim looks showed the tailor’s basting stitches. Grey wool dresses featured exaggerated, sculptural elements, as if wind pushed up the skirt hems and bell sleeves. Oversized puffer coats were paired with sofa cushion headgear. Fetching gowns were made from florals fished from the Moschino archive.

The show closed with an SOS message from the late brand founder Franco Moschino’s archives, Save our Sphere. A model carried a small handbag shaped like the globe.

Front-row guests included singers Normani and Neneh Cherry, who just published a memoir in October.