Forget freshman Philosophy 101; the “something in nothing” at Moschino SS26 is rendered with the house’s signature irony and play. Titled NIENTE (“nothing” in Italian), the collection leans into the ordinary and the everyday, the humble and the human. Perhaps the latest in cultural recession indicators, the collection aggrandized potato sacks, apple boxes, saucepans, and buckets.

Courtesy of Moschino

Moschino’s manifesto anchors the collection with “reuse, recycle, reimagine” as its core tenets. More than environmental commandments, they echo the philosophies of Franco Moschino: reconsider, revitalize, and redefine. References to the Moschino archives include trompe l’oeil effects, the beloved Smiley, and the iconic ‘90s newspaper print. These nods lay the groundwork for the collection, where anything can be something (especially a handbag).

That includes…a bundle of newspapers, the apples from your grocery haul, your childhood beach bucket, the mangled shipping box housing your latest return, or the saucepan from last night’s pasta. But beyond the slapstick accessories and potato sack sets, the luxury inside Moschino SS26 is in its joy of craft. Knits are made with technical raffia, recycled from plastics. Embroidery comes in the form of flowers strewn across dresses and tailoring. The “Tie Me Bag” is executed in rubber and “dressed” in cloth. Rope, wood, lacing, ruffling, and knotting are toyed with and elevated.

Courtesy of Moschino

But the true surprise of Moschino SS26 might be the classically beautiful, “wearable” pieces that are lax on shock factor. A silky sheath dress in a watercolor palette; a nearly-Klein blue sweater polo; a so-light-pink-it’s-almost-white Western tailored button down; and a sleek, slate-blue strapless dress. The show even closed with a flowy white dress pulled into Roman-esque wrappings and pleats. But when creative director Adrian Appiolaza took his bow in a T-shirt bearing a printed baby, it was clear: this is still Moschino.

Courtesy of Moschino