You can always rely on Jeremy Scott to put on unforgettable, uniquely whimsical fashion shows. This season was no different. For Moschino’s SS21 collection, Scott pulled out all the stops, putting on a puppet show referencing all that was unconventional about this fashion season. With the designs scaled down to fit the 30-inch figures, “No Strings Attached” provided a fantastical escape for everyone at home.

With help from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop — the special effects company that brought the muppets to life — Scott resized his designs onto 40 marionettes and created a set for the salon show. Along with the impressions of his favorite models, fashion’s biggest names were also in attendance. In the front row sat Anna Wintour, Edward Enninful, and Vanessa Friedman in looks exclusively designed by Scott. As kitsch as it sounds, this is not Scott’s first encounter with puppeteers and miniature dresses. In the mid-2000s, Scott was the first designer to dress Miss Piggy.

Just as the marionettes were a celebration of craftsmanship, so was the collection. All the work on the mini outfits was done by hand, and even the jacquard was scaled down and rewoven to marionette proportions. Elements typically found inside garments — intricate edges, complex seams, corsetry boning — were the stars of the show, symbolizing the upside-down and inside-out state of the world. “As the world seems to be splitting along the seams, the bare inner workings of something new will be exposed,” read the designer’s opening statement for the collection. In homage to the culture of haute couture, Scott brought the construction of garments to the forefront. Among the looks that embodied the reconstruction was a cocktail gown that looked like it had been ripped upon, revealing another embroidered dress under it.

Regardless of the absence of human models, this collection was a celebration of the human and the physical. “People don’t care about craftsmanship in that way, but they’re very human — done by humans and made by humans. I wanted to find a beautiful, elegant way to do it and tell the story about the creation and history of fashion — instead of something like a digital liquid bleurgh!”