NYC Tattoo Artist Slaps Faux Ink on Models for Moschino Pre-Fall 2020

For the past decade, fashion brands have been heavily inspired by tattoo culture and have incorporated flash on both fabrics and skin. Recently, designer and creative director Jeremy Scott pulled inspiration from popular tattoo trends for Moschino’s Pre-fall collection, which paid homage to 90s NYC hip-hop.

For the show, which was held at the NYC Transit Museum, Scott had NYC tattoo artist JonBoy design and apply temporary ink to the model’s necks and faces. JonBoy was assisted by fellow NYC tattooer Michelle Santana as well as his girlfriend, Playmate Danielle Lupo. The designs were entirely script, featuring words like “Decadence,” “Couture” and of course, “Moschino.”

“They had commissioned me maybe a week before the show, so I had very little time to prepare. It was crazy,” shares JonBoy. “It was very cool to be part of the process, but also very intimidating because every fashion outlet is going to be talking about this show.”

“When it came down to the tattoos, I was like, ‘Man, this has to look right.’ At first, I thought that I was going to be able to do it by hand with 75+ models, but there was no way that I could do it by myself,” says JonBoy. “They wanted this very L.A., BJ Betts style, script and I ended up using a Revlon eyeliner, which worked….I love that he brings both worlds (East Coast and West Coast) together. [Scott] is a guy who loves New York and resides in L.A—I loved the merge of both cultures.”

In addition to fashion models, the show attracted a number of high profile fashion figures, including RuPaul’s Drag Race winner Aquaria, NYC club icon Amanda Lepore and pop star Kim Petras.

The collection featured many campy items, from oversized hats, backpacks and gold chains, which clearly show Scott’s influence—conjuring memories from childhood of trying on our parent’s oversized clothing items. According to Vogue, the collection was inspired by Scott’s time studying at Pratt in the 1990s and taking the L/ G trains throughout Brooklyn, showcasing a mix of both the uptown and downtown crowds NYC is known for.

“Jeremy just has a way of bringing childhood nostalgia to his fashion,” shares JonBoy. “For me, because these were temporary tattoos, I was brought back to my childhood before I got tattoos. You know, when you would open a cracker-box or go to a gumball machine to get a temporary tattoo. For me, that brought it home and reminded me why I love tattoo culture, and do what I do.”

Not only did the fashion industry love JonBoy’s temporary tattoos, but the models in the show couldn’t get enough of their new ink.

“I went to the after party with the whole team and the models. Only a few of the models took off their tattoos, everyone else kept theirs on. They had flights to catch but wanted to keep the tattoos on and rock em, which was cool to see…,” shares JonBoy. “I remember before I got tattooed, I wore fake tattoos and wanted to see how it felt to have something on my body before I made that commitment. It’s cool to see people get excited with temporary tattoos, they look in the mirror and almost see a different person or create a different persona.”

What do you think of Moschino’s collection? Let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments section.