During Covid-19, almost every industry has taken a hit in some way and the fashion world is no exception to that. Fashion week and runways are the prime avenues for designers to showcase their work and get orders. Since the limitation of people allowed in the congregation was put into place, this makes it increasingly difficult to follow through with the fashion shows. Along with the models walking the runway another necessity for a successful show is a multitude of photographers and countless audience members whose thoughts highly influence the success of the show.
In light of all these many designers have been thinking of ways to adapt. Many have been having outdoor shows, many with masks, and limited audience members while others cancel the shows completely. In these trying times, Jeremy Scott, creative director of Moschino took things to the next level, and not only with his designs. He decided that in order to ensure the utmost safety for everyone, it would be most beneficial to have a fashion show with minimal people. His idea was to create a show using dolls instead of people. This show was designed without any human models. His new models became 30-inch marionette dolls. His team recreated his entire collection to fit the models. All the clothes were hand-stitched and no detail was left behind down to the last hem and zipper.
To help bring his vision to life, he curated a team that was involved in designing the muppets, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. With their expertise and Scott’s designs, Moschino was able to put on a miniature fashion show. To help create a more life-like appearance and interaction with the models, strings were attached so that movements could be more natural and organic. They built a complete runway, models, and the show even included audience members which were also marionette dolls. Scott aimed to emulate a real show to the best of his abilities.
Scott’s idea to reach out to the creation shop came as he was the first designer to dress Miss Piggy. Scott employed his executive control network in actively creating designs and modifications for the show. His default mode network had the experience and memory of dressing Miss Piggy. In conjunction with an incubation period and help from his salience network, he was able to make a viable connection by applying his experience dressing The Muppets to dressing marionette dolls.
His show was wildly successful. Although it cost more than a typical runway production would, Scott was inspired by the challenge and the entire production. Being a designer he was always heavily involved in runway productions, but in this specific fashion show, he had control over design, walk, movement, and everything in between.
Link to the fashion show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQQE9PrcIDo
I thought this was a really interesting read! I think covid-19 is proving to be a obstacle that leads to creators branching out and putting more of their dreams into action. He was able to keep to show safe while also having more control over how everything was presented on the dolls and how they moved. I know I personaly would've never though of having a fashion show on dolls-but it seems to work really well. His attention to detail and skilled stitching really shown through even more when they have to accommodate 30-inch dolls. His intrinsic motivation proved that he was really committed to showcasing his work in a new way and it looks successful. The idea to put strings on the dolls was really innovative and who knows maybe a few years down the line there will be more shows like this with other designers.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a cool thing! I love reading about all the ways that people have been working around Covid-19 to keep their industry and their companies running, and honestly this is so unique. The idea of still being able to show off these designs but without having to pose any risk to models is such a creative thing. Its the fact that they created not only the marionettes but also recreated all of the clothes down to the last detail to scale for the dolls so you could still et the full effect of the design and not miss out on anything that you would have had the clothes been able to be on a real person. I think this is something that will continue to push the boundaries of fashion even after the end of the pandemic and I believe we will start o see even more unique fashion showcases in the future.
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