Encouraged by Gianni Versace, Franco Moschino began his eponymous label with a line of casualwear and jeans before eventually expanding to eveningwear, shoes, lingerie and perfumes.

The brand was originally created in 1983 by the late Franco Moschino (1950–1994). Moschino and his fashion label became famous for his innovative, colorful – sometimes eccentric – designs, for his love of fairies, for his criticisms of the fashion industry and for his social awareness campaigns in the early 1990s.

After Moschino's untimely death, Rossella Jardini, his former assistant, became creative director. The brand has been part of the Aeffe fashion group since 1999.