Is this the end of maximalism?

Jeremy Scott’s Moschino Fall/Winter 2020 collection was a mix of 18th century Marie Antoinette-esque styles with the maximalist playful philosophy of Moschino. The corset and pannier skirt were some of the most common styles incorporated into the collection. Scott modernized these silhouettes by shortening the hemline and with the application of denims and leathers. Key colors included pastel pink, hot pink, turquoise, green, black, tan, and blue. The inspiration seems clearly derived from Sofia Copola’s iteration of Marie Antoinette whom she depicted as frivolous, flamboyant, and opulent in her 2004 film. The reference was blatant when a series of dresses shaped like triple decker cakes came down the runway, evoking Antoinette’s “Let Them Eat Cake!” saying. 

The collection indeed came amidst a 2019 revival of 18th and 19th century French Rococo styles in womenswear including the revival of corsets, leg of mutton, sleeves, and french shengyou toile prints. This revival was accompanied by the release of films and shows Romanticizing older times such as The Great, Little Women, and The Favorite. The extravagance was also timeliness in that the MET Gala’s last theme was Camp in 2019. In the iconic red-carpet celebrities walked up the MET stairs in their most campy flashy numbers. While this felt fitting at the time of it’s release, the global COVID-19 pandemic unravelled within weeks of the February runway show.

The pandemic ushered in a rather minimalist and essentialist attitude in stark contrast to the heightening maximalism and logomania of the late 2010’s. Though Scott could not have known of this seismic shift in culture, he was arguably already a year late to the opulent leaning trends of 2019. While the collection does not represent the current zeitgeist, what it may represent is the height of a maximalist attitude that reached a breaking point in the year 2020. What followed was historic unemployment, hundreds of thousands of deaths, and a renewed fervor to fight against antiquated establishments.