Graphic imagery takes the runway at Jeremy Scott

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Feb 9, 2019

Not unlike Tom Ford, it seems Jeremy Scott is also preoccupied with the news. However, where Ford chose to create a space of solace away from the headlines, Scott has used this season to blow them up and bask in their absurdity, in a collection fittingly titled "Controversy." 

Set inside Spring Studios in a white room with a view of the Hudson River, the co-ed Fall/Winter 2019 collection for the designer’s eponymous label was a wash of graphic black and white looks, with only a small handful of looks diverting from the newsprint color palette with a bluish grey hue.

Designed in collaboration with artist Aleksandra Mir, pieces featured dramatic renderings of tabloid covers pulled straight from the New York Post and New York Daily News. The words “tragic” “killer” “scandal” “psycho” and “meltdown” were splashed across dresses, puffer coats, trenches, drawstring shorts and more, sometimes in a muddy fashion that suggested smeared ink; other times in buoyant bubble letters that one might find inside a teenager's journal. Many of the graphic looks were topped off with tabloid-print headgear, including berets, beanies, bows, and  – naturally – newsboy caps. 

The hyper-charged messages were carried down the runway on a canvas of smooth vinyl, distressed denim, fitted bustiers, frothy tutus and Swarovski crystal mesh, materials that conjured up sensations of claustrophobia and frenzy, while giving one the distinct feeling of having smoke in one’s eyes.

According to a press statement from the label, the collection is meant to serve “as a rebuttal to our collective obsession with salacious headlines, false scenarios and click bait drama that incite tensions and ultimately divide us – not only in the political sphere, but in pop culture as well.”

Overall though, there was a good sense of humor to the show, as front row guests were treated to CBD chocolates (to "take the edge off"), and the collection's message played out before an audience that mixed the anonymous with celebrities who have seen themselves lambasted in the tabloids – Courtney Love, Cardi B’s younger sister, Hennessey, and Rich the Kid among them.

In addition to his namesake label, Scott continues to serve as the creative director of Italian fashion house Moschino.