Moschino’s cigarette iPhone case: silly but totally on brand

So, smoking is back in fashion – and, for once, it’s not Kate Moss’s fault. By all means, CC her into your complaint email – the model marked her comeback to modelling in 2011 by smoking on the Louis Vuitton A/W11 catwalk – but this time it’s Moschino’s fault. The Italian label’s latest collection (which was shown last week and is one of the few new ready-to-buy collections) is themed around smoking and features, among other fag-like things, an iPhone case shaped like a cigarette packet emblazoned with the slogan “Fashion kills”.

First, a little background on Moschino. Since taking over as creative director in 2013, Jeremy Scott has famously woven low-brow references into his collections – past themes have included Barbie and McDonald’s. It’s a move that subverts our idea of fashion as an elite medium while exploring the relationship between art and commerciality; a witty recognition of the power of branding, from the Marlboro man to the Camel Lights camel.

Thematically speaking, this suggests Moschino is staying on brand. After all, the case is silly, but, at £47, fashionably expensive and couched in controversy. It also comes at an interesting time for the cigarette industry. From May, cigarette packets will no longer be branded and will come in a standardised box because, well, as Moschino’s in-joke explains, smoking kills.

In a neat twist, it’s also very similar to the fake Chanel cigarette packet iPhone cases available at all good urban street-markets (naysayers take note: fashion is generally in on the gag), which are among the most popular fakes cases around – a straw poll found three in the Guardian office. History, film and fashion have long dictated that the coolest people smoke, but, in lieu of actually smoking, it’s probably best to get one of these cases.