Chase And Status’ Saul talks us through his huge Moschino collection

Chase And Status’ Saul Milton is a serious collector of Moschino. We caught up with him to find out what he likes about the Italian brand loved by garage- and jungle-heads alike, and how it inspired both the duo’s new album and an upcoming exhibition

What is it about Moschino?

I just love their incredible designs. Particularly some of the women’s pieces, actually, which are just mad out-there. It’s been a really important brand for our scene and culture; I remember seeing people dressed head to toe in it at jungle and garage raves back in the day. If they were head to toe you knew they were a badman!

What was your first ever Moschino piece?

The first shirt I got was in 1998; it was a classic eye-print shirt. My grandpa bought it for me and I coupled it with some black Versace jeans and black Reebok Classics, black Nike TNs or Gucci loafers. That was my first wave of getting into Moschino, but I was 17 then and I didn’t have the balls to wear any of the louder printed stuff. I certainly didn’t have the confidence to wear it head-to-toe like I do now!

The shirt your granddad got you – was it something you’d wanted for a long time?

I’d been to The End the night before for a Full Cycle night. I was a skate kid at the time in baggy jeans, DC trainers, an Independent beanie and a hoodie, and I had an epiphany on the dancefloor because of all the people I saw around me. I shaved my head, bought some black Versace jeans and got my granddad to buy me that shirt in Ilford the next day. I went from skater to rudeboy overnight! My granddad was in his 70s or 80s so he didn’t really get it, but he was happy to buy it for me so I owe him a lot. From there I started to buy a few more plain shirts and eventually built up to the printed shirts.

How did you get back into collecting more recently?

Around 2013 we were making our third album and I kind of felt like I’d lost a bit of the drive I had when I was 17 or 18. At that age all I wanted to do was DJ jungle so I thought, ‘How am I going to get back into that headspace?’ I looked in my wardrobe at all my Moschino and thought that was the way to do it. When Will and I left Manchester for London I had loads of Moschino and Will was like, ‘Just get rid of it, you’re never going to wear it again.’ I regretted that for about 10 years! So I started finding all the pieces that I used to have, then I was like ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to have the jeans to match, or this shirt, but in a different colour too.’ It kind of spiralled from there.

How often do you buy pieces?

I’ve kind of stopped collecting because I’ve pretty much got everything I’m after. If I continued I’d have no space and my wife would probably leave me! They make more pieces than you realise.

What are your other go-to brands?

I’ve got a lot of old Versace, D&G, Burberry and Gucci, but if I started collecting all those brands too it would be over for me! These days tracksuits and Reebok Classics are my general get-up.

Keep an eye out for more from Chase And Status’ RTRN II JUNGLE project later this year

Lewis Munro is Mixmag's Digital Fashion Editor, follow him on Instagram