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Ensemble

Design House House of Moschino Italian
Designer Franco Moschino Italian
spring/summer 1992
Not on view
The whimsical "FashiON/OFF" statement suit by Italian designer Franco Moschino characteristically deconstructs the high-mindedness of fashion. The billboard-like pattern expresses the idea that, like a light switch, fashion can be turned on and off and hence needs not to be taken, or take itself too seriously. In a generous gesture, Moschino offsets the dry irony of the statement with four heart-shaped red buttons.
As a postmodern designer and champion of the “camp” sensibility, described by Susan Sontag in her 1964 essay "Notes on Camp," Franco Moschino expresses through his designs the ideas captured in Sontag's writings that "the whole point of Camp is to dethrone the serious. Camp is playful, anti-serious" as well as "Camp taste is, above all, a mode of enjoyment, of appreciation - not judgment. Camp is generous. It wants to enjoy. It only seems like malice, cynicism. Or, if it is cynicism, it's not a ruthless but a sweet cynicism."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Ensemble
  • Design House: House of Moschino (Italian, founded 1983)
  • Designer: Franco Moschino (Italian, 1950–1994)
  • Date: spring/summer 1992
  • Culture: Italian
  • Medium: acetate, nylon, wood
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Gould Family Foundation Gift, in memory of Jo Copeland, 2019
  • Object Number: 2019.76a, b
  • Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

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