Jeremy Scott: The Marie Antoinette of Fashion?

by Hetty Mahlich on 26 February 2020

As Jeremy Scott presented 18th century frivolity for Moschino’s A/W 20 womenswear show, was it ignorance in bliss or wry social commentary?

Models in denim pannier skirts and petit four cake dresses teetered down a mirrored runway in platform thigh-highs: this was Jeremy Scott’s absurd take on 18th century French monarch Marie Antoinette for his Moschino A/W 20 womenswear collection. Toile du jouy and needlepoint were transformed with imagery from Riyoko Ikeda’s 1972 Japanese anime series La Reine de Versailles, and pannier skirts were stretched and cropped into fantastic mini dresses, whilst breeches and knickerbockers were fitted with leather knee pads and paired with ruffled sleeve tailcoats.

Marie Antoinette may seem an inappropriate reference in our current climate of anxiety, which has seen designers moving towards a more conscious approach where less is more. However, while the queen lived cocooned in the extravagant court of Versailles oblivious to her fate at the guillotine, Scott is more than aware of the buttons he’s pushing by reiterating the historic queen’s association with out-of-touch excess.

In a season which saw more carbon neutral shows and biodegradable materials incorporated into collections, Scott seemed to undermine other designers doing their bit for sustainability. While everyone else is trying to strip back and pare down, this Moschino collection’s love for lavish stood out, and ruffled feathers. The contemporary consensus asks, ‘who really needs another bejewelled baguette bag?’ Scott says Moschino’s customers do, and they absolutely won’t feel guilty about it.

Jeremy Scott’s Moschino A/W 2020 womenswear collection inspired my approach to reimagining Marie Antoinette. His playful, exaggerated silhouettes and pastel-toned wigs transformed 18th-century extravagance into something bold, modern, and humorous. This creative energy led me to design a series of coloured pompadour hairstyles for my paper-doll collection. By styling models of different races, I wanted to celebrate diversity while re-examining the iconic visuals of Marie Antoinette through a contemporary lens. Scott’s reinterpretation showed me how historical fashion can be re-energised to feel inclusive, expressive, and visually exciting.

Different hairstyles/ models sketches for my paper doll design

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