Jeremy Scott

Jeremy Scott is an American fashion designer and the owner of his namesake fashion label. He established the brand in Paris in 1997 after studying fashion design at Pratt Institute and developing an early interest in combining historical references, science-fiction imagery, popular entertainment, and deliberately unconventional materials. The label quickly became associated with an intentionally provocative form of fashion that challenged the minimalist and commercially polished styles dominant in parts of the late-1990s industry. Scott's early Paris collections used materials and visual references that made theatricality central to the brand. His debut collection drew on the imagery of J. G. Ballard's Crash and used paper hospital-gown materials. Subsequent work incorporated flea-market textiles, trash-bag-like surfaces, exaggerated silhouettes, logos, metallic fabrics, and references to 1980s excess. A white collection brought him critical attention and helped connect the young designer with influential fashion editors, stylists, photographers, and performers. Björk became one of his early high-profile supporters and wore designs from the collection in performance contexts. The brand's identity developed around a collision of high fashion and mass-culture symbols. Scott repeatedly transformed recognizable motifs from advertising, fast food, cartoons, toys, consumer packaging, music, television, technology, and American retail culture into garments, accessories, and footwear. His work often uses humor, exaggeration, nostalgia, and visual immediacy rather than discreet branding or conventional luxury restraint. This approach made the label particularly visible among musicians, entertainers, stylists, and younger fashion audiences, while also producing controversy when visual borrowing or cultural references were judged insensitive or legally problematic. Scott moved from Paris to Los Angeles in 2001, an unusual decision at a time when the city was less established as a global fashion center. Los Angeles became an important base for his perspective on celebrity culture, entertainment, street style, and American popular imagery. His personal label remained a cult fashion business rather than a mass-market apparel company, with clothing, accessories, footwear, and selected collaborations forming its principal areas of activity. His work with Adidas was a major driver of international recognition. An initial 2002 Adidas project reworked the Forum sneaker with a money-themed print featuring Scott's likeness. A broader Adidas Originals partnership beginning in 2008 produced distinctive footwear and apparel, including the winged JS Wings and teddy-bear JS Bears. These products helped move Scott's visual language from runway fashion into sneaker culture and broadened his audience through music and streetwear communities. He also worked with Longchamp, Swatch, and other consumer-facing partners. From October 2013 through March 2023, Scott was creative director of Moschino. Although that role was separate from ownership of the Jeremy Scott label, it amplified the designer's international profile. His Moschino collections translated the Italian house's tradition of fashion satire into references to McDonald's, SpongeBob SquarePants, Barbie, consumer packaging, paper dolls, cartoons, and other widely recognizable cultural forms. He was credited with making the brand especially visible to a new generation of consumers and celebrity followers. Celebrity dressing and entertainment collaborations are central to Scott's broader practice. He has designed for or worked with performers including Björk, Madonna, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, CL, 2NE1, and others. He created costumes for Katy Perry's Super Bowl XLIX halftime performance in 2015, redesigned the MTV Video Music Awards Moonman statuette, and contributed to projects involving The Muppets and fashion exhibitions. His career was documented in t…

Jeremy Scott was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1975 and grew up in both rural and suburban settings. He developed an early interest in clothing, fashion illustration, French, and Japanese. In 1992 he moved to New York to study at Pratt Institute. During his education he experimented with unusual combinations of historical and futuristic clothing and interned at the New York office of Aeffe, the company associated with Moschino. After graduating in 1996, Scott moved to Paris. Unable to secure a conventional fashion position, he began developing an independent practice. His first collection appeared in 1997 in a Paris bar near the Bastille. The show drew on Crash and used paper hospital-gown materials, setting a precedent for the designer's use of inexpensive, unexpected, or symbolically charged materials. A subsequent black collection incorporated flea-market fabrics and a dystopian visual language. A third, predominantly white collection received stronger critical attention and helped attract influential fashion professionals. Björk became an early supporter and wore one of Scott's angel designs during her Homogenic touring period. Scott's early work positioned him against the minimalist fashion climate of the period. He embraced exaggerated 1980s glamour, conspicuous logos, metallic surfaces, oversized shoulders, and deliberately excessive styling. His 1998 Spring collection, titled Duty Free Glamour, used the imagery of airline uniforms and international travel while contrasting Midwestern references with jet-set fashion. Although some collections were criticized, the confrontational approach established Scott as a cult designer with a distinctive point of view. In 2001 Scott relocated from Paris to Los Angeles. The move reflected his growing engagement with American popular culture, music, television, entertainment, and celebrity. His designs became increasingly connected to performers and visual artists, while the label retained an independent and highly authored character. In 2002 he collaborated with Adidas on a limited Forum sneaker, and in 2008 Adidas Originals launched a broader line of Scott-designed footwear and apparel. The JS Wings and JS Bears became especially recognizable products, helping connect runway fashion with sneaker and streetwear audiences. The designer extended his commercial collaborations through work with Longchamp from 2006 and Swatch in 2011. He also designed objects and visual concepts for other partners, demonstrating that his recurring motifs—especially wings, cartoon forms, and exaggerated pop references—could move across fashion, accessories, and consumer products. A proposed Adidas JS Roundhouse Mid release in 2012 was withdrawn after criticism over its handcuff-like attachments. Scott rejected the slavery interpretation and described the design as a reference to a children's toy, but Adidas nevertheless abandoned the release. Scott's career also included disputes over visual appropriation. In 2013 he settled a dispute with Santa Cruz Skateboards and stopped production of the affected collection. In 2015 he and Moschino were sued over alleged copying related to a Moschino collection; that case was settled out of court. These events illustrate the legal and cultural risks inherent in a design practice built on recognizable images and recontextualized graphics. In October 2013 Scott became creative director of Moschino. His first major Moschino collection reframed the house's satirical heritage through McDonald's colors, fast-food imagery, consumer labels, SpongeBob references, and playful accessories. Later collections used themes including the Bonfire of the Vanities, Barbie, 2D computer and paper-doll imagery, cigarettes, cartoons, and nostalgia for late twentieth-century consumer culture. His Moschino work was widely credited with increasing the house's visibility and making it especially attractive to celebrities and younger global fashion audiences. Alongside his label and Moschino work, Scott designed for performers including Katy Perry, Madonna, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, CL, 2NE1, and others. He created Katy Perry's Super Bowl XLIX costumes in 2015, redesigned the MTV Video Music Awards Moonman statuette, and dressed entertainment characters such as Miss Piggy. His career was documented in the 2015 film Jeremy Scott: The People's Designer. He announced his departure from Moschino on March 20, 2023, while continuing to own and operate his namesake label.

1. 2023Leaves Moschino

   Scott announced his departure as Moschino creative director after nearly a decade in the position.

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2. 2015Designs Katy Perry's Super Bowl costumes

   Scott created costumes for Katy Perry's Super Bowl XLIX halftime show.

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3. 2015Career documentary is released

   Jeremy Scott: The People's Designer, directed by Vlad Yudin, documented Scott's life and career.

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4. 2013Appointed Moschino creative director

   Scott took responsibility for the creative direction of Moschino while retaining ownership of his namesake label.

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5. 2011Creates three Swatch watch designs

   Scott designed three watches for Swatch, applying his colorful and exaggerated pop aesthetic to timepieces.

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6. 2008Adidas Originals collaboration expands

   Adidas Originals launched a broader Scott footwear and apparel collection, including JS Wings and JS Bears.

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7. 2006Begins Longchamp collaboration

   Scott began an ongoing collaboration with French leather-goods company Longchamp.

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8. 2002First Adidas design project

   The limited !Signed Forum project introduced Scott's money-and-likeness motif on an Adidas sneaker.

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9. 2001Moves from Paris to Los Angeles

   Scott relocated his base to Los Angeles, deepening the influence of American entertainment and popular culture on his work.

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10. 2000Wins the ANDAM Fashion Award

    Scott received the ANDAM Fashion Award, one of the significant early recognitions of his design career.

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11. 1997Namesake label debuts in Paris

    Scott presented his first collection in Paris, launching the independent Jeremy Scott label.

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12. 1992Begins fashion studies at Pratt Institute

    Scott moved to New York and entered Pratt Institute to study fashion design.

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Independent designer fashion positioned around irreverent pop culture, theatrical silhouettes, American consumer imagery, celebrity visibility, and the fusion of luxury fashion with streetwear and entertainment.

• Jeremy Scott ready-to-wearApparel1997

  The core label produces highly stylized ready-to-wear collections built around graphic motifs, exaggerated proportions, theatrical construction, nostalgic references, and reworked images from popular culture. Collections have included dystopian, aviation, 1980s glamour, computer, rockabilly, cartoon, and consumer-packaging themes.

• Jeremy Scott accessoriesAccessories1997

  Accessories extend the label's visual language into handbags, jewelry, eyewear, hats, belts, and other statement pieces. Designs favor oversized shapes, recognizable symbols, bright colors, and ironic transformations of familiar consumer objects.

• Jeremy Scott footwearFootwear1997

  Scott's footwear is known for sculptural silhouettes, unusual ornamentation, vivid graphics, and close connections to music and streetwear culture. His independent footwear work is complemented by high-profile Adidas designs, including winged and character-based sneakers.

• Adidas Originals JS WingsCollaborative footwear2008

  The JS Wings are high-top sneakers distinguished by prominent wing elements attached to the sides of the shoe. They became one of Scott's signature commercial designs and helped establish a bridge between avant-garde fashion, celebrity styling, and sneaker culture.

• Adidas JS BearsCollaborative footwear2008

  The JS Bears use furry materials and teddy-bear head details to turn the sneaker into a deliberately playful character object. Their novelty construction exemplifies Scott's preference for humor, recognizable figures, and exaggerated surface treatment.

• Longchamp Jeremy Scott bagsCollaborative leather goods2006

  Scott's Longchamp work applied his graphic and pop-art sensibility to the French company's bag formats. The collaboration became a recurring part of his wider accessories practice and connected his runway identity with a more accessible luxury product category.

• Swatch Jeremy Scott watchesCollaborative accessories2011

  The 2011 Swatch collaboration comprised three watch designs characterized by bright, playful, and exaggerated visual treatments. It translated Scott's fashion vocabulary into a compact consumer accessory.

• 2015Katy Perry Super Bowl XLIX performance

  United States and international broadcast audience

  Scott designed costumes for Katy Perry's halftime performance, including a custom bustier associated with the appearance.

  Outcome. Strengthened the label's association with high-profile live entertainment and celebrity fashion.

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• 2015Moschino Barbie television commercial

  International

  As Moschino creative director, Scott wrote and art-directed a commercial for the Moschino Barbie, drawing on the visual conventions of 1980s and 1990s toy advertising.

  Outcome. The campaign attracted attention for featuring a boy in a Barbie commercial.

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• 2015MTV Video Music Awards Moonman redesign

  United States and international broadcast audience

  Scott served as creative director for the MTV Video Music Awards and redesigned the show's Moonman statuette.

  Outcome. Extended his influence from apparel design into award-show visual identity.

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• 2012Adidas Originals campaign with Nicki Minaj, Sky Ferreira, and 2NE1

  International

  Scott appeared in Adidas campaign materials alongside Nicki Minaj, Sky Ferreira, and 2NE1, presenting the collaboration as a bridge between fashion, music, and youth culture.

  Outcome. Expanded the visibility of the Adidas partnership and connected Scott with a broad international music audience.

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• 2023Departure from MoschinoOther

  Scott had served as Moschino's creative director since 2013.

  What changed. He announced his exit from the position on March 20, 2023.

  Aftermath. The decision ended his formal creative leadership of Moschino while leaving his independently owned namesake label as his continuing brand platform.

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• 2013Appointment as Moschino creative directorOther

  Moschino sought a creative leader whose work could continue the house founder Franco Moschino's irreverent and satirical approach.

  What changed. Scott accepted the creative director role while continuing to own his namesake label.

  Aftermath. His Moschino collections substantially increased the house's visibility among celebrities, younger consumers, and global popular-culture audiences.

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• 2012Adidas cancels JS Roundhouse Mids releaseOther

  The sneaker's yellow handcuff-like elements prompted public criticism and a debate about the design's cultural implications.

  What changed. Adidas chose not to sell the shoe.

  Aftermath. Scott defended the toy-related inspiration, but the product became one of the most controversial episodes associated with his footwear work.

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• 2008Expansion of Adidas Originals partnershipProduct launch

  Scott's earlier limited Adidas sneaker project demonstrated potential for translating his runway ideas into footwear.

  What changed. Adidas Originals launched a broader collection of Scott-designed footwear and apparel.

  Aftermath. The JS Wings and JS Bears helped establish Scott as a prominent crossover designer in sneaker and streetwear culture.

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• 2001Relocation from Paris to Los AngelesStrategy

  Scott had established his label in Paris but was increasingly interested in American entertainment, music, and popular culture.

  What changed. He moved his base to Los Angeles.

  Aftermath. The relocation became an important part of the label's American pop-cultural perspective and celebrity-oriented identity.

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• 2015Moschino copyright-infringement lawsuitControversy

  Scott and Moschino were sued over alleged copying in the Moschino Fall/Winter 2015 clothing line. The matter was settled out of court.

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• 2013Santa Cruz Skateboards plagiarism disputeControversy

  Scott faced a dispute over alleged copying of Santa Cruz Skateboards graphics. The parties reached a settlement, and Scott stopped production of the affected collection.

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• 2012JS Roundhouse Mids controversyControversy

  A planned Adidas sneaker featuring yellow handcuff-like attachments was criticized as evoking slavery. Adidas withdrew the product before sale. Scott denied that interpretation and said the design referenced the toy My Pet Monster.

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• 2023Jeremy Scott announces departure from Moschino

  Scott announced that he was leaving his position as Moschino creative director after serving in the role from 2013.

  Leadership change
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• 2015Jeremy Scott designs Katy Perry's Super Bowl halftime costumes

  Scott created costumes for Katy Perry's Super Bowl XLIX halftime performance, reinforcing the label's relationship with major music and entertainment events.

  CampaignOther
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• 2013Jeremy Scott becomes Moschino creative director

  Scott was appointed creative director of Moschino, beginning a decade-long period in which he translated the house's satirical tradition into globally recognizable pop-culture collections.

  Leadership change
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• 2008Adidas Originals launches Jeremy Scott footwear and apparel range

  The collaboration introduced distinctive products including the winged JS Wings and teddy-bear JS Bears, helping establish Scott as a major figure in fashion sneaker culture.

  Product launchProduct generation
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• 2002Jeremy Scott begins Adidas collaboration

  Scott created a limited Adidas Forum design using a money motif and his own likeness, beginning a relationship that later expanded into a major footwear and apparel partnership.

  Product launch
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• 1997Jeremy Scott launches namesake label in Paris

  Scott presented the first collection of his namesake label in Paris, establishing the experimental and theatrical direction that would define the brand.

  Other
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1. Jeremy Scott
2. Jeremy Scott official website