Moschino is a great example of a carefully positioned brand. It manages to deftly bridge the stylistic gap between brands like Diesel and the full-on fashion houses of brands such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Miu Miu. Where Diesel is for the younger street wear masses, loaded with distressed jeans, shoes and interesting watches, Gaultier is the muscled sailor that applies mascara on the weekends and Miu Miu is for the independent woman high on her design sensibility, Moschino strikes a median chord of fashion with an eye for design full of joyful tears of whimsy. The fanciful young heiress that can hit the soiree scene day or night.

The Moschino logo of tight all-caps type speaks of straightforward strength but all graphics that swirl around it lend an air of fairytale. The Cheap & Chic line, hard to pronounce correctly after the second glass of chardonnay, dips closest to the Diesel aesthetic. The word ‘cheap’ is questionable when it comes to mental association, but the fun of the line overrides any second guesses. Cheap & Chic’s fragrance line, with it’s blatant visual references to the comic feme anti-hero Oliveoil, lends a major sense of playfulness to the collection, and all of the print ad campaigns only bolster that feeling.

The Moschino house goes a step further in building a sense of whimsy into their brand with a careful eye to it’s physical execution. Conceived by designer and friend Sean Dix, the retail spaces of Moschino achieve a balance of playfulness and crisp, thoughtful design. The Gualtier of Philippe Starck is all androgyny and glitter, which is fitting. The Donald Judd-ness of the Miu Miu spaces works toward the relentless pursuit of high design and attention to detail but misses the smart feminine eye behind it (sorry Muccia). Dix’s design is a stew of modernist sensibility and the humor and joy inherent in a fashion house that takes seriously the ‘lightness’ of fashion. An example of this are the many ‘bureaus’ that hold the store’s stock. The pure modernist rectilinear form solves the problem of storing clothing but the application of the baroque elevations give a tongue in cheek nod to ideas of ornament and design. The Cinderella Chandelier also is lighting by pure whimsy. As if the light cast on every woman trying on a new Moschino dress were that of a fleeting dream come true. Better to grab hold of the moment now and live in it before it is gone.

Sean Dix’s design solution for the physical expression of the Moschino brand are a lovely fit with the sensibility of the house. If only other brands were as careful… or care free.