Perhaps you’ve heard of Jeremy Scott and his shoe line for Adidas, and if you haven’t, you’ve definitely heard of Moschino, the brand he is currently the Creative Director of. Scott is known for his out-of-the-box ideas in the fashion industry (he put teddy bears on sneakers for crying out loud), but some are saying he’s gone too far with his latest collection for Moschino called Capsule.
Scott’s vision included models dressed like paper dolls, paper folding tabs and all. Some of the two-piece designs were screen printed onto one-piece bodysuits. He stated that the collection is a representation of the idea that we are all getting too used to viewing the world on our phones, or in 2D.
However, some of the designs were seen as extremely controversial, as Scott incorporated prescription pills and pill bottles onto some of the pieces. The tagline of the collection, “Just say MoschiNO” is also a play on an anti-drug campaign from the 80s.
The prescription pill bottle phone case is already sold out on Saks.com, but you can still purchase the matching bottle shaped purse or shirt on Selfridges.com. Obviously the collection has been received well in the fashion world based on sales, but many have expressed outrage at what the collection actually promotes.
The Internet resounded with distaste for the collection after many were made aware of it through a change.org petition made by Randy Anderson. He is a recovering addict and now an alcohol and drug counselor. His petition is asking for the boycott of not only the collection, but also the sale of it in major department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue.
The petition outlines Anderson’s concern with the glamorization of prescription drugs addiction, and has received almost 5,000 signatures. In the petition, Anderson stated, “According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2014, 47,055 people died of an accidental drug overdose, with 29,467 of those from opioid-related drugs, which includes prescription pain medication and heroin. Drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in this country.”
Since the petition’s release, Nordstrom has pulled the collection from their shelves and website, stating that they were glad that their customers expressed their concerns with the collection, “We appreciate all the constructive feedback we received from concerned customers and ultimately decided to remove the collection from our site and the three stores where we offered it.”
Moschino has responded to the controversy, stating, “We are disheartened to hear that there has been a misunderstanding of the underlying theme of the collection.”
While they did not express what that theme was exactly, some have argued that it is likely that Moschino and Scott were trying to create awareness for an issue, rather than glamourize it. Which, based on all the tweets linked to the controversy, whether you agree with their methods or not, they did actually accomplish.