Moschino’s Anti-Waste Statement
Anders Christian Madsen reviews the Moschino Spring/Summer 2026 collection by Adrian Appiolaza.
A T-shirt in the Moschino collection was emblazoned with the word “Niente”: nothing. The word—mantra of the Arte Povera movement of the 1960s and 1970s, which emphasized a return to simplicity and celebrating the everyday—appeared on an early-1990s slogan tee by Franco Moschino. His penchant for turning humble, everyday things into pointed statements through his characteristic irony was a way of critiquing luxury and consumption. “Today is not the easiest time to speak up,” the house’s current custodian, Adrian Appiolaza, said after his show on Thursday evening in Le Cavallerizze, “so if you can send a message, send it.” Another T-shirt revived from the founder featured a picture of a baby saying “stop.” In these times of over-consumption, the designer’s message was clear.
The collection—his third for Moschino—was centered on ideas of reusing, recycling, and reimagining existing materials and ideas. He made it clear not only in the reconstructed spirit of garments that felt hand-spun and pieced together, but in a muted color palette decidedly au naturel. “I wanted to create something that felt unpretentious,” he explained, echoing the ethos of Arte Povera. “I always felt very attracted to the idea of something not-shiny, not-special that becomes desirable.” With little iteration in the running order, every look served as a different exercise in that premise.
MOSCHINO
MOSCHINO
MOSCHINO
For all its crafty constructions, shape-shifting volumes, and surreal motifs and silhouettes, Appiolaza’s collection had a restrained attitude about it. When things were transformed from normal to glamorous, they still remained somewhat humble in spirit; somewhat homemade. Mirrored in his motif of “poor art,” it meant that the collection didn’t just come off as a message of anti-waste but sometimes as anti-glamour, too. “Glamour is in the eye of the beholder,” he said. “At Moschino, my motto is to get dressed like you want. To be glamorous is an attitude; it’s how you feel.” In a season when few designers are making political statements, Appiolaza’s activism was much welcomed. You kind of wanted to turn the volume up on it.
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