MONCLER MONDOGENIUS: The Journey Is The Destination

5 cities worldwide,
11 collections, 11 creative visions,
more than 30 platforms

Moncler Genius broke down borders to unite and connect people around the world with MONDOGENIUS, an immersive digital experience into the culture of Moncler that took global communities on a journey through five cities, sharing the creative visions of 11 designers, all under one show.

Opening the event, live from Milan, Moncler’s global partner and 15-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer, songwriter and producer Alicia Keys led the audience through MONDOGENIUS. While she interacted with singer and actress Victoria Song, who was live herself from Shanghai, the show streamed via a dedicated microsite (https://mondogenius.moncler.com) as well as more than 30 platforms including social media, e-tailers, websites and media outlets, giving all audiences the possibility to access this extraordinary journey.

Taking viewers from Milan to Shanghai, Tokyo to Seoul, then to New York and back again, Alicia threw the gates wide open so everyone could become a part of the MONDOGENIUS story. By uniting communities and generations from all over the world, this digital journey drew the audience in, creating a reason to belong with the Moncler universe.

Removing the limitations of the physical realm, the MONDOGENIUS digital experience seamlessly linked the two worlds, creating an open space to engage in new conversations, exchange ideas and welcome in everyone’s creative expressions.

“Today is not only about products, but is even more about our communities and the culture we want to shape together. The world is changing, people do not want the same things as before, they demand and expect more from brands. Today, we must find new ways to connect and engage, becoming pioneers of new messages. The greatest inspirations I had in my life came directly from people and at Moncler we know that the more we inspire people, the more they inspire us. I truly believe in the power of connecting communities around experiences and creative visions. This is the principle that guided the creation of Moncler Genius for 2021,” said Chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini.

• SHANGHAI
  

3 MONCLER GRENOBLE

Opening the show, INTO1 members, INTO1-Santa, INTO1-Mika and INTO1-Zhou Keyu, asked: ‘Are you ready to fly?’ before a jaw-dropping showcase commenced, taking the new 3 Moncler Grenoble collection to a whole new level. Exemplifying the technicality and high-performance synonymous with Moncler Grenoble, 12 performers defied gravity by floating on air in a sky diving spectacular above three wind tunnels, wowing the global audience.

7 MONCLER FRGMT HIROSHI FUJIWARA

In an intriguing and engaging display that seamlessly fused the gap between the physical and digital realms, Hiroshi Fujiwara’s cultural sixth sense came to life live in Shanghai. The ‘Godfather of Streetwear’ presented life-size screen-projected images of models wearing his functional yet mysterious 7 Moncler FRGMT collection on the streets of Tokyo, London, Milan, Bristol, and Vancouver; each expressing the designer’s connection to the metropolitan world. The screens stand in a dark production space, each connected by luminous vintage cables, highlighting the juxtaposition of the human and digital worlds, while providing obstacles for models to traverse as they weave their way between the screens. Mirroring Fujiwara’s FRGMT sensibility, celebrated architect and founder of Studio QI, Qi Shanshan navigated the space as she explained to host Victoria Song how “architecture is a force for creativity”, linking the world and its inhabitants.

MONCLER + DINGYUN ZHANG

Playing with strong contrasts in an electrifying production, DingYun Zhang transformed Tank 5 into a mountain tundra under a dramatic cloud-filled sky. Elevating the production was actress GUAN Xiaotong, who introduced DingYun Zhang’s thrilling collection with her trademark positivity. A nod to Moncler’s mountain heritage, the dramatic set juxtaposed the collection’s futuristic underwater aesthetic. Delving to new depths, this new addition to the Moncler Genius roster is richly layered and immediately catches the eye with aquatic color palettes, organic-toned prints and color-blocked layers exposed through holes in the garments. By showcasing his collection in this way, the up and coming designer explores the harmonious existence of humans and nature in extreme conditions with designs inspired by the way sculptures in the underwater realm can be transformed with the fusion of sea life.

• MILAN
  

1 MONCLER JW ANDERSON

Welcoming the audience into the intimate setting of a vintage movie theatre, 1 Moncler JW Anderson presented an arresting short film devised with celebrated Italian film director Luca Guadagnino within the cozy ambiance of Milan’s Cineclub Il Cinemino. In the movie, Tony award-winning and Academy, BAFTA and Emmynominated actress Sophie Okonedo plays a teacher whose expression of her passion for art is ignited on a trip to a museum with her students, who are all dressed in pieces from the 1 MONCLER JW ANDERSON collection, after a mesmerizing and random encounter with a colorful and charismatic stranger. The result is an overwhelmingly powerful exchange of inspiration, which spreads through the teacher and her students. The movie reflects the contrasting elements within the 1 Moncler JW Anderson collection that focuses on colorful escapism through abstract visual narratives.

2 MONCLER 1952 MAN

Sharing his love of art with MONDOGENIUS viewers, Creative Director Sergio Zambon, invited the world to join him at Milan’s Stazione Centrale where he curated an exhibition featuring contemporary artists, and personal acquaintances, Andrea Anastasio, Erwin Wurm and Prem Sahib. The work of each artist reflected Zambon’s own sensibility of embracing contrasts, playing with perspectives and turning everyday reality on its head. 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, which provoked introspection around consumerism, iconography and art itself. Prem Sahib’s Puffer Desk explored the desk as a modern cultural artefact and a symbol of solitary productivity. While Andrea Anastasio’s work applies a philosophical curiosity to the symbolism of functional objects, which was evident in his Alta Quota vases bound and interwoven with mountaineering cords, Giubbotti vase insulated with Moncler’s ‘duvet’, and Pillow – a playful interrogation, fusing the idiosyncrasies of the East and West around the form of a cushion in a pithy visual statement. The striking exhibition was followed by a benefit auction on Artsy, the leading global online art marketplace, from September 25 through October 11 with nonprofit FREE THE WORK on behalf of The Film Path, designed to help black, indigenous, people of color and transgender take part in the fashion industry.

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. Projecting the concept of the power of combined effort and embracing the possibilities of working in unison with nature's elements.

8 MONCLER PALM ANGELS

Paying homage to Americana style and vintage culture, Palm Angels designer Francesco Ragazzi personally welcomed viewers, with a special appearance from award-winning filmmaker and visual artist Akinola Davies Jr, on a treasure hunt around a reworking of an American vintage store, The Dune, inspired by the desert landscapes of rural Santa Fe, within Spazio Maiocchi in Milan. Pieces from the 8 Moncler Palm Angels collection were eclectically interspersed with real vintage items reflecting a collection where different, even disparate elements mix, and magically come together. Putting seasonal codes to one side and spontaneously reshuffling the familiar into something surprising, Ragazzi’s collection elevates the materials, volume and details on classic garments offering them a renewed freshness, inspired by the variety and energy found in a diverse thrift store environment.

• TOKYO
  

4 MONCLER HYKE

In direct contrast to the big performances seen elsewhere in the world of MONDOGENIUS, 4 Moncler Hyke sought to express the essence of clean utility and radical simplicity at the heart of its collection with a fashion show. Introduced by Japanese actress Anne and actor Sota Fukushi, the show was set within the cyclical space of the atrium of the Telecom Center Building in Tokyo, the inaugural Moncler Genius show nodded to Moncler’s mountain heritage with its gigantic snowdome-like setting but placed the focus firmly on the clothing, reflecting the purposefulness and pragmatism of HYKE.

• SEOUL
  

MONCLER + GENTLE MONSTER

Taking over the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, this new addition to the Moncler Genius line-up arrived in style with an installation, a performance influenced by the way our digitally minded society measures emotions. Representing the emotional expression is the idea of the swipe: a concept that features throughout the collection of giant sleeping bags, down jackets, eyewear and accessories – all in a compelling black. The audience was introduced to a darkened hall by model, actress and singer Lee Sungkyung and K-pop artist and actor Hwang Minhyun, where 16 models stood underneath glaring screens projecting a series of swiping images, from a dazzling white light to the Moncler + Gentle Monster logo and extreme close ups of the models’ faces. Above the screen stand 16 static mannequins. As the installation turns to performance, the models move around the space, the screens sharply cutting through the black darkness in a dramatic juxtaposition.

• NEW YORK
  

6 MONCLER 1017 ALYX 9SM

Deliberately disruptive and fiercely metropolitan, the spirit of creative director Matthew Williams’ designs was brilliantly contextualized in an energetic and intimate act featuring the emo-pop sounds of freewheeling artist and musician Teezo Touchdown. Debuting his new track I’m Just a Fan, Teezo’s engaging mysterious performance channeled the artist’s DIY approach to art – or, as he prefers to call it, DIWYF (Do It With Your Friends). He describes this approach as a conversation in the back of a taxi that turned into carrying 30 cooling fans up three flights of stairs to a room with no AC to create something that will immortalize the fun of creating the piece. Set within a New York City apartment, and featuring his trademark six-inch nail embellishments, the production falls into the realm of musical art and – open to interpretation – reflects the urban-attuned clothing present in Williams’ designs.

2 MONCLER 1952 WOMAN

Live from New York, viewers were taken on an enthralling ride through an energetic production by recording and visual artist, Solange Knowles, chosen by 2 Moncler 1952 designer Veronica Leoni. Through her powerful and arresting vocal performance in Rest Your – a performance film directed by Khalik Allah (Black Mother), an American filmmaker whose work has been described as ‘street opera’ – the talented singer enacts a mystical ritual, building to an emotive climax, revealing a moment of reflection. The duality, emotion and strength of the performance are a poignant reflection of Veronica Leoni’s vision for 2 Moncler 1952 Woman. Caught between the practical and the sensual, the grounded and the adventurous, the collection explores the beauty of feminine contrasts, nodding to a traditional fifties aesthetic while energetically embodying the dynamism and willful energy of the present.