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“What is that?”
It’s a regular Tuesday night after work, and I am perusing the pasta assortment of my local grocery store while nonchalantly carrying Moschino’s fall 2025 pasta bag. (Well, that is a slight lie: I am trying to be noticed.) “Oh, this?,” I reply to the complete stranger who has approached me about the campy (okay, quite bizarre) accessory that I am toting under my arm. “It’s actually a clutch!” At first glance, it does indeed look like I have a mountain of loose spaghetti coming out of my armpit. So when I reveal that it is actually a luxuriously-made handbag, said stranger proceeds to smile in a slightly horrified way—then slowly rolls their cart away from the crazy man in aisle two.
If you, like me, love fashion and pasta, then Moschino’s spaghetti bag is sure to delight the senses. (Don’t try eating it, though.) Debuted at the Italian label’s fall show in Milan back in February, the clutch—designed by creative director Adrian Appiolaza—is made of printed leather, punctuated with strands of dynamic, faux-leather noodles. There’s even basil leaves and cherry tomatoes all tangled up in it, too. “I have so much fun with all the bags I design for Moschino, but this pasta bag with cherry tomatoes is a particular favorite,” Appiolaza says of his new creation. “A classic clutch mixed with spaghetti pomodoro is such a playful and cheeky way to wear your favorite dish.”
Moschino’s spaghetti bag wasn’t the only Italian food-themed accessory in the show: There were also Milano lemon cookie bags, and clutches shaped into bottles of Moschino wine. But the stringy pasta version is by far the most intricate and over-the-top offering of the bunch: It will soon retail for $3,250, and becomes available later this summer. Of it, Appiolaza quips, “carbs have never looked so good!”
Sure, a wacky runway bag is nothing new for Moschino, given the Italian fashion house’s legacy spans everything from McDonalds-inspired crossbodies to, more recently, the celery-shaped leather Sedano bag. But there is something about the pasta bag that particularly lends itself to a riotous night out. Would fashion set in the image of carbs invigorate some all-night dancing? Would it set the tone for a delicious evening? Feeling inspired, I decided to bravely take the pasta bag on a hot date—to two of New York’s sceniest restaurants, The Corner Store and Cipriani Downtown—as well as my local grocery store.
Would people gawk at the humorous bag? Would they even notice it, among the crowd of influencers and VIPs with their own statement accessories also frequenting the restaurants? There was only one way to find out: Read on for what happened when I took the Moschino pasta bag out into the wild.
The Corner Store
There is currently no reservation in New York City that is harder to get than The Corner Store. (Thanks, Taylor Swift.) I figured it was the perfect place to bring Moschino’s pasta bag, given the buzzy crowd of models, content creators, and important rich folks—someone was bound have an opinion on the kitschy accessory. While there is technically no pasta on the menu here, the viral five-cheese pizza rolls and special tomato martini made it amici. So, armed with three friends, and my delectable bag, I was soon on my merry way to see what the It crowd had to say about it—allora!
I sauntered into the restaurant at 5 p.m. sharp, with the bag discretely tucked under my arm. The place was already buzzing, despite it being an early bird special. The hostess immediately made eye contact with my bag—slowly, eventually, moving her gaze up to my eyeballs. “Hi,” she says, unsure of where to direct her gaze. “Name?”
As I made the bitchy strut from the hostess stand to our back table, I looked around to see if any dining patrons are taking notice of the bag. Nada. Folks don’t even bat an eyelash at the pasta that seems to be spilling out from under my Yohji Yamamoto sleeve. Hello?! The crowd’s attention is much more focused on who is walking in, rather than what they are wearing, and continuing on. Perhaps they were hoping for Swift and Travis Kelce to walk in, or a Jenner. Sorry to disappoint.
Our table orders the mandatory sour cream and onion and tomato-flavored martinis, and I plop the bag onto the table as our caesar salads arrive. Our (lovely) waiter proceeds to place more apps in and around the bag, barely acknowledging its wackadoodle presence. Is there some sort of sensitivity training going on in this place? I want people to comment on it! Be freaked out by it! Admire it! Something! If there is a plus at The Corner Store, it is that an eccentric fashion choice is encouraged and acknowledged as completely normal. Discretion comes al dente—boring! Onto the next.
Cipriani Downtown
For my second hot date with my Moschino bag, I figured we needed a true pasta spot in the mix—so I landed on bringing it to Cipriani Downtown, an always-packed Italian hotspot where you go to see and be seen. At a back table, I immediately spot top models Alex Consani and Yasmin Wijnaldum having dinner with friends. Perfect. But it is not just stylish locals in the mix: This is also the kind of place that ritzy non-fashion tourists come. The kind of place where the pasta bag will be perfect for ogling. These poor, unassuming diners are about to get carbs to the eyeballs.
My friend Razelle and I are given a table near the front windows—a perfect spot to put the Moschino spaghetti on full display. Placing it on the white tablecloth, I order the spaghetti with Chilean sea bass and cherry tomatoes; When it arrives, it is almost an exact dead-ringer for my bag. Like, I am talking it looks made from the same ingredients. I get a slight chuckle from the nearby maître d.
At the table next to us, a cute couple enjoying date night sits down, and the well-clad woman immediately sets her sights on the pasta clutch. As she continues talking to her man through dinner, I see her vision continuously straying back and forth from his face to my bag. I cannot tell if she is enjoying it, or completely repulsed by it. This lady should become a professional poker player or an actress— she has a talent for being totally unreadable! I am tempted to lean over and ask her what she really thinks, but my friend Razelle begins to delve into a transfixing story, and I completely forget to. Guess I will never know what about the Moschino bag kept her mesmerized.
The takeaway
Does it matter what people think if you rock the Moschino pasta bag? Not really—one should wear it if you like it! But I wish one person, aside from my slightly-terrified fellow grocery store patron, had come up and given me their unfiltered thoughts on the design. So, instead, I will leave you with mine.
Fashion is supposed to be fun—a conversation-starter even—and to me, the Moschino bag is perfectly infusing a sense of humor back into the scene. Sure, it may not have the chic and timeless appeal of an Hermès Birkin or The Row Margaux bag, but that is not the point. Does everything having to be so impossibly chic and discreet? Sometimes, a zesty fashion statement should be enough to spark joy. Ancora!
Yes, it will cause people to whip their heads around as they walk past you, but that’s not a bad thing, IMO: Life is too short to blend in. Plus, who does not love pasta? It’s the perfect blend of food and fabulosity. Just promise me one thing if you, too, decide to rock it come summer: With an over-$3,000 price tag, do not use it as a pasta doggy bag. Ever.
