Last month, Vogue released a video from inside the closet of Jeremy Scott fan Joey Arias. In 10 years, he bought 700 pieces and sometimes trades coveted items with fellow fans on Instagram. What makes collectors so invested? Arias, clinical operations manager for a mobile dental company in Dallas, responded with enthusiasm for Scott’s work. “I know people who use fashion as an armor or a shield,” he says, “but in Jeremy’s clothes, not only am I really me, but they’re like a welcome mat. People just gravitate to it , they want to ask about it.”
It’s one of Scott’s talents as a designer: his show is a warm embrace, others figuratively cross double Arm and say “You were not invited.” His other talents are many, but what is showcased in this series is his commitment to the subject matter and his originality. This season’s theme is tailoring; the lookbook opens with a collection of men’s and women’s suits spliced from haberdasher scraps into single- and double-breasted suits, silk jacquard ties sewn onto neat vests and knee-length skirts Among them, there are short and long party dresses.
Worsted wool, gabardine and houndstooth were more serious than his inflation-themed pool float collection at Moschino’s spring show in Milan, but the pieces Humorous too, whether it was the lapels of coats that curved around the head to create dramatic hoods, or the smoking elements—belts, bow ties, reversed satin—he wore them oversized for evening.
As awards season heats up, some of these numbers seem likely to be on the red carpet. The most likely two: a strapless black gown with a heart-shaped bodice embroidered with gold hearts of various shapes and sizes over a cropped blouse, and for the more extroverted nominee Say, the smoking Scott transformed into a curvaceous skirt with lapels that curve up to frame the torso and two red corsages that form the top of the bra. A conversation, of course.
