I'm a seasoned people watcher, especially on the train. There's always that Cool Girl™️ on the subway — typically coming from somewhere downtown — who's elusive but not trying too hard. She's grasping a beat-up novel and bobbing her head to whatever's playing in her AirPods, and the glint from her no-highlight-highlight always seems to catch the (dim, blinking) overhead light. Jeremy Scott of Moschino is just as inspired by this Cool Girl™️ as you are, as evident from Moschino Pre-Fall 2020. The show, held underground at Brooklyn's New York Transit Museum on Dec. 9, was a love letter to those gals and guys who don't try too hard.
"The inspiration is absolutely New York, and absolutely Jeremy," editorial hairstylist Jimmy Paul tells TZR backstage. "I take the subway a lot... so slightly exaggerated version of stuff you might really see." Paul's purview includes braids and cornrows woven with gold thread, buns with gelled-down baby hair, and blowouts with a little bit of body ("Upper East Side," Paul explains of the inspiration. "Their hair is plain."). As for the glitter finger waves? All Jeremy. "I saw pics [of him] when he used to go out," the hairstylist notes.
Thankfully, Paul acknowledges he's not the first — or last — to glean inspiration from these styles rooted with African heritage, like large box braids and straight-backed cornrows woven with thread (sourced from his favorite beauty supply shop on 125th Street in Harlem) and dotted with filigree tubes. Stylists from The Braid Shop, owned by celebrity stylist Melek Ustunluk of Clifton, New Jersey, turned the backstage space into a neighborhood salon with jars of Jam and extensions strewn everywhere.
Makeup artist Kabuki for MAC Cosmetics, who also cited "gangs in the subway" as reference, made lip liner the focus for each model. "It's not really about eyes," he admits. "[We used] a variety of Lip Pencils to give enough definition — like a natural lip with extra. This went from a statement editorial look to wearable version." After all, most of the models were inked with temporary tattoos done by JonBoy, so a light base was best for this.
While the makeup was simple, manicurist Mei Kawajiri made up for it 1,200 times over — because that's how many nails she and her team created. "It's just like the movies. Old school subway stations and chains. Very hip-hop looking," she says. The accessories from the collection — "big, gold, and chunky" — is what she kept in mind for the various manicures, and hand-cut pieces of chain for the designs. "We used nail polish from OPI, she notes. "And we needed [everything to stick], so we used GelColor Top Coat. Otherwise everything will fall off."
Below, shop some of the Moschino city girl essentials that will help you turn heads on your own respective commute.
