The point of this exercise, which started in June: Keep the conversation going (and cash registers ringing) for the Italian brand with monthly releases of its famous down jacket – reinvented by some of the hottest in the fashion community – for eight months.
If a fashion label launches a collection, and no one is there to ’gram it, does it happen at all? Moncler wants to make sure that people do, now that it has done away with its twice-a-year Gamme Rouge and Gamme Bleu launches. In their place: a monthly capsule that involves multiple big names and up-and-coming designers.
The large-scale project – which took two years to prep for – is the brainchild of CEO Remo Ruffini, who explained to news website The Business of Fashion that “you cannot talk to your customer every six months, you need to talk every day”.
Moncler Genius brings together seven designers and one stylist – Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli, Simone Rocha, Craig Green, Noir’s Kei Ninomiya, Fragment’s Hiroshi Fujiwara, Palm Angels’ Francesco Ragazzi, Moncler Grenoble’s (the brand’s technical ski line) Sandro Mandrino, and Karl Templer – to each put their spin on Moncler’s iconic puffer jacket.
The designers will drop their own themed collections in their respective months. Fujiwara was the first to kick things off with a men’s capsule. This month, it’s Ninomiya’s, shown here, with down jackets, vests, and skirts manipulated into geometric shapes. A Comme des Garcons protege, he is known for his expertly sculpted and complex designs, mostly in black. - RT
