MONÉ MONTE CARLO – A TRULY MONÉGASQUE LABEL

Being a fledgling label, could you let us know why and how you came about launching Moné, and what your aims are within the industry as you embark on this upwards trajectory towards success?

One of our key mission statements when deciding to found Moné was to portray as true a portrait of the Principality as possible. There are few places in the world that people can claim to know so much about, but still lack a fundamental understanding of its history and culture other than Monaco and the surrounding Riviera. As a brand, we wanted to pay tribute to stories from the Riviera’s cultural archive (good and bad!!) and create a uniform for Les Monégasques – meaning residents of Monaco – that had substance and meaning to it. Be it Georgio running a Brasserie on the port or Matthias chasing wins at the casino. The word authenticity gets thrown about a lot in fashion, but we wanted to create a brand that at its core portrayed the lifestyle of a community we grew up in.

We at CULTED have previously shone a light on your offering shirts, with open collar looks emblazoned with colorful scenes being perfect for summer. When designing these garments where are you pulling inspiration from?

It’s tricky to pinpoint one area of inspiration as our influences echo the diverse history of the principality, from the Genoese, the French, and even the Greeks. That being said, many of our most recent design cues were taken from the fashion trends during the so-called golden era of the Riviera, from 1970s Alain Delon in Rene Clement’s Plein Soleil, to visions of Serge Gainsbourg strolling Saint Tropez, pastis in hand. It was an era of cultural explosion, dating back to the rise of smaller cities like Antibes and Menton, and populated by the likes of Gerald Murphy and Pablo Picasso.