Whilst IRL shows have been back for the first time since lockdown for most of fashion month, on September 25, MONCLER’s MONDOGENIUS came directly to us. For the first time, #MONCLERGENIUS presented its collections via a digitally-led experience across 5 cities and through the vision of 11 designers, all under one show, hosted from Milan by music icon Alicia Keys.
MONDOGENIUS, MONCLER’s fashion month presentation, was described as an event which goes beyond the product; and it certainly lived up to this promise. The roster of designers, by presenting in the dual live and virtual spaces, embraced culture and explored creativity whilst nurturing experiences and bringing communities together on a journey into the unexpected.
As restrictions and lockdown begin to ease across the world, MONCLER took a valuable insight from isolation and worked it into their fashion month offering: the power of communal experience. MONCLER CEO Remo Ruffini “truly believes in the power of connecting communities around the world through experiences”, and thus ‘MONDOGENIUS’ was designed to facilitate “a real immersion into MONCLER’s energy and cultural evolution without leaving anyone out”. Here, MONCLER offered inclusivity, and for the first time, gave fashion-fanatics from across the globe the opportunity to get involved in what normally would have been an exclusive fashion week event for the brand.
From the outset, the stage was set for MONCLER to deliver something out of the ordinary. In lieu of paper or digital invitations, the brand sent out a pair of custom, technologically-enhanced sunglasses to attendees, a stroke of genius both from an influencer and marketing point of view. The physical, wearable invitation formed part of the brand’s collaboration with designer GENTLE MONSTER, explored below.
New York, Milan, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul guided the global audience to discover and explore the concepts that inspired the MONCLER-Genius designers, spanning a variety of fields including art, film, music and extreme sports. Without borders (or strict entry rules) MONCLER-Genius reached all voices and all communities, creating endless possibilities for the future of digitally-led fashion events.
MONDOGENIUS was hosted by Alicia Keys from Milan, and featured actress and singer Victoria Song live from Shanghai. We’ve broken down the MONCLER-Genius designers featured in the show, and the cities in which they presented from.
MILAN
1 MONCLER JW ANDERSON
Welcoming the audience into the intimate setting of a vintage movie theatre, JW Anderson presented an arresting short film, with celebrated actors all sporting the new collection. The film, focused on a moment of inspiration caused by spreading information, reflected the contrasting elements within the collection that highlighted colourful escapism through abstract visual narratives.
2 MONCLER 1952 MAN
Sharing his love of art with MONDOGENIUS viewers, Creative Director Sergio Zambon, curated an exhibition featuring contemporary artists and personal acquaintances who reflected Zambon’s own sensibility of embracing contrasts, playing with perspectives and inverting everyday reality. Erwin Wurm’s ‘Fat Mini’ subverted the form and pop cultural cache of an iconic car, rendering a recognizable silhouette in shocking-pink Moncler puffer fabric. Prem Sahib created a ‘Puffer Desk’ from the same fabric. The exhibition was followed by a benefit auction on Artsy, a global online art marketplace, designed to support people of colour and transgender people in the fashion industry.
8 MONCLER PALM ANGELS
Paying homage to Americana style and vintage culture, Palm Angels devised a treasure hunt around a reworking of an American vintage store. In an inventive way of showing, pieces from the collection were interspersed with real vintage items reflecting a collection where different, even disparate elements combine. The collection aimed to elevate the materials, volume and details found on vintage garments, thus offering them a renewed freshness.
5 MONCLER CRAIG GREEN
Presented at Stazione Centrale in Milan, designer Craig Green amplified the inspirations for his collection with extreme, sculptural and architectural structures resembling machines made to fly. The collection projected the concept of the power of combined effort, and championed working in unison with nature’s elements.
SHANGHAI
3 MONCLER GRENOBLE
Opening the show, INTO1 members asked: ‘Are you ready to fly?’. Technicality was a major focus, with the collection exemplifying the high-performance synonymous with Moncler Grenoble, headed up by Sandro Mandrino. Performers partook in a high-fashion simulation of skydiving to add to the spectacle.
7 MONCLER FRGMT HIROSHI FUJIWARA
Fusing the gap between the physical and digital realms, Hiroshi Fujiwara presented life-size screen-projected images of models wearing his 7 MONCLER FRGMT collection on the streets of Tokyo, London, Milan, Bristol, and Vancouver; each expressing the designer’s connection to the metropolitan world. Qi Shanshan, celebrated architect, navigated the space as she explained to host Victoria Song how “architecture is a force for creativity”, in linking the world and its inhabitants.
MONCLER DINGYUN ZHANG
A nod to MONCLER’s mountain heritage, Dingyun Zhang used a dramatic set to compliment a dramatic collection. The collection employed aquatic color palettes, organic-toned prints and colour-blocked layers exposed through holes in the garments. By showcasing his collection in this way, the up and coming designer wanted to explore the ‘harmonious existence of humans and nature in extreme conditions’
TOKYO
4 MONCLER HYKE
In direct contrast to the big performances seen elsewhere in the MONDOGENIUS roster, Hyke expressed clean utility and radical simplicity in its collection. The show was set within the cyclical space of the atrium of the Telecom Center Building in Tokyo, and nodded to MONCLER’s mountain heritage with its gigantic snowdome-like setting.
SEOUL
MONCLER GENTLE MONSTER
A newcomer to the Genius roster, Gentle Monster opted for a performance centred around the way our digitally-minded society measures emotions. Representing the emotional expression is the concept of the ‘swipe’ which featured in the collection’s giant sleeping bags, down jackets, eyewear and accessories, all in black.
NEW YORK
6 MONCLER 1017 ALYX 9SM
In New York, 1017 Alyx 9SM presented a disruptive and fiercely metropolitan collection. The designs were contextualised in an energetic and intimate act featuring emo-pop sounds by Alyx’s friend, Teezo Touchdown. The collection presentation was set within a New York City apartment, and featured his trademark six-inch nail embellishments.
2 MONCLER 1952 WOMAN
Solange Knowles presented designer Veronica Leoni’s collection with a tailored performance, live from New York. Caught between the practical and the sensual, the grounded and the adventurous, the collection explored feminine contrasts.
With MONDOGENIUS came the distinct understanding that fashion shows, in the 21st century, have to move beyond the garments themselves. More significant, and perhaps even more interesting are the communities and cultures that continue to inform (and be informed by) each new collection. Opening up the world of MONCLER Genius to everyone, MONDOGENIUS closed the gap between the physical and digital worlds, putting creativity and entertainment in the spotlight, and with a renewed appreciation for community.
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See also: MONDOGENIUS: ALICIA KEYS HOSTS THE RETURN OF MONCLER GENIUS
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