How M Missoni Brought A Joyous Fashion Celebration To Los Angeles
A model at the M Missoni Fall/Winter 2020 presentation | all photos courtesy of M Missoni
A version of this story first appeared on Forbes.com
Here in Los Angeles, we are often on the outside looking in when it comes to fashion week, but more and more often, fashion designers are uprooting their traditional shows in New York, London, Milan, and Paris for exciting outings here on the West Coast. Especially when it’s February, who wouldn’t want to leave the cold weather for sunny Los Angeles?
On Tuesday, February 4th, M Missoni ditched the usual Milan schedule for an exciting outing to Pink’s Hot Dogs on La Brea. Any Angeleno knows what an iconic landmark Pink’s is, and it proved to be the perfect backdrop for M Missoni’s latest collection, appropriately entitled “MMerica”.
The space was decked out in all things Missoni; every aspect, from the walls of the parking lot to the iconic Pink’s sign to the hot dog and French fries containers, were reimagined in Missoni zig-zags and colors, as if Missoni had exploded onto the Pink’s lot in every manner.
And then the fashion itself exploded onto the scene, in the form of a Missoni-branded double-decker sightseeing bus, not unlike the ones littered throughout Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards. Models exited the bus one by one to show off their M Missoni threads, eclectic mixes of printed knitwear and fabrics that evoked feelings of the Venice Beach boardwalk in the 60s and 70s.
Patches of different prints and fabrics were repurposed and upcycled into vests and skirts, reflecting M Missoni’s initiative to help the environment (the collection also featured sustainable wools and animal-free puffer jackets, and M Missoni has committed to offset emissions through the Bonneville Environmental Foundation). The clothes were equally mixed and matched, not tied down to gender constraints (or at least the old standards of acceptability). Taken altogether, the collection was a celebration of the crossroads of American life, where people of all ages, shapes, and genders can meet up at a place like Pink’s for a common experience.
Aside from the colorful clothes, one thing that struck me was the diversity of the models. Unlike some runway presentations where there is an air of “tokenism” to any features of models who are not skinny white women, M Missoni’s presentation was how more fashion presentations should strive to be: naturally diverse, with models of different ages, races, body types, and genders all wearing M Missoni designs, not to beg for brownie points, but because the brand wanted to highlight who can wear their clothes: everyone.
In a time when many are asking what the purpose of Fashion Week is, who should attend, and how it can address issues of racial, gender, and size inclusivity, it is refreshing to see an exciting fashion presentation that highlights the diversity of our world so organically, without making a big fuss over it.
The music, the clothes, the models dancing their way off the tour bus—it all echoed the idea that this was a celebration; of fashion, of people coming together, of life. As Margherita Missoni herself exited the bus, the models gathered in a lively dance celebration, circling the center of Pink’s parking lot as Sly and the Family Stone played. If people are asking how to make fashion fun and inclusive in today’s climate, just look to M Missoni for a shining example.