Franco Moschino; Creator of Irreverent Fashion Designs

MILAN, Italy —  Franco Moschino, the irreverent designer who once created a ball gown from garbage bags, has died of cancer.

A spokeswoman for his firm said Monday the enfant terrible of Italian fashion died Sunday of an abdominal tumor at his lakeside villa in Brianza, near Milan. He was 44.

Spokeswoman Lida Castelli said Moschino had been ill since surgery for the tumor two years ago.

The designer, one of the top names in Italian fashion, was known for his outrageous ensembles and penchant for poking fun at the fashion world as he melded playful details into classic styling.

At his last show, a 10-year retrospective in October, he brought back some of his favorites: a jacket embroidered at the waist with the words “Waist of Money,” a teddy bear hat, an unfinished blazer and an evening gown made of brassieres.

Posters advertising his ready-to-wear creations proclaimed “Ready to Where?”

He also introduced a ball gown of gray plastic garbage bags. After the show, he said the gown’s message was “fashion is trash.”

Moschino preferred showroom appointments to the ostentatious runway, but never held back during his exhibitions.

He presented clothing with labels and price tags prominently displayed, a jacket with lettering that read, “This is very expensive,” tape-measure belts, dinner jackets decorated with real cutlery, and a sweater with yarn and knitting needles attached to the collar.

He also teased other designers, spoofing the famed Chanel suit by trimming it with colorful plastic ruffles.

“Fashion reflects the confusion, the mess we have in our brains,” he once said.

During the past year, Moschino had been raising funds for a hospice for children with AIDS.

Moschino was first drawn to fashion when he attended evening classes at Milan’s Brera Academy of Fine Arts from 1967 to 1969.

He went on to work as a free-lance illustrator with Italian Gianni Versace from 1974 to 1977 and then as a designer of numerous fashion collections for other houses.

He launched his own collection in 1983 and produced economically priced “Cheap and Chic” lines for men and women.