This article originally appeared on Vogue Business.
Its Valentines Day whenVogues first date with Adrian Appiolaza is scheduled insideMoschinos Milan studio.
And this is my very first interview, he says as we sit.
Photo: Federico Ciamei
We organized everything to be made with fabrics that were already in-house and ready to go.
But everything has yet to be worked out and tested.
Adrian Appiolaza inside Moschinos Milan studio.
Adrian Appiolaza inside Moschino’s Milan studio.
I know that afterwards, I will have the time and resources I need to do my best fully.
Lets see if we can do it.
Appiolaza, 51, has been preparing for this moment throughout his more-than-two-decade career in fashion design.
Appiolaza will present his first show on Thursday.
I learned something important from each of them along the way, he says.
And thats to Franco [Moschino] himself, he says.
I want to hear all their stories.
Photo: Federico Ciamei
In the studio, Ive been sitting and working at the same table that Franco worked from.
My aim is to make the main character in my work here that of Moschino itself.
Appiolaza will present his first show on Thursday.
Appiolazas first act when he arrived at Moschino was to return to its source: the archives.
Appiolaza laid it out on the rails and dug in.
My first reaction was: volume.
One of Francos great strengths was his creation of silhouettes.
What Ive already learned from him is that clothing is meant to be played with.
This is something I want to touch.
But I dont think the time is right in the first collection.
It all started with Morrissey and The Smiths.
I was really into the Rockabilly look.
And I had a friend whose dad was working for Aerolineas Argentinas (Argentine airline).
Later, the Madchester scene most of all The Stone Roses became a key obsession.
This created the question mark in my mind: how can I see it for myself?
I was very shy but I was desperate to explore.
My plan was to go to Manchester, but I stopped in London first.
And he gave me somewhere to stay, on a sofa bed.
He lived in Covent Garden.
And then I had to think about what to do for work.
Appiolazas first job was handing out flyers in front of Heaven nightclub beneath Charing Cross station.
This was in about 1994.
He also worked as a kitchen porter and in restaurants.
Looking back I was not working towards a goal, I was just working to survive.
But now I feel pretty proud of what I did.
This is what its like in Argentina.
He continues: And its a matter of respect.
You know, I am still learning, and everything here feels very new.
But it is a process, like everything.
This is my character even if I am a Cancerian and have my pessimistic swings.
But joy is whats important.
But for me, this is just the beginning, an empty page.
This Thursday, Appiolaza will write the first sentence in his and Moschinos freshest chapter.
