Summit Meeting: JW Anderson X Moncler

The traditional Italian brand Moncler with French roots knows how to challenge its own aesthetics with prestigious co-operations like no other company. After Simone Rocha and Richard Quinn, it is now up to designer J.W. Anderson to reinterpret the history and DNA of the original mountain sports label.

“I secretly hoped that they would contact me for the project”, reveals J.W. Anderson, who has been creating a furor with his own label since 2008 and has been creative director at Loewe since 2013, leading the Spanish label back to new, old heights. Despite or perhaps because of his immense popularity among fashion experts, his commitment to “Moncler Genius” seems a special honor. “It’s such a modern and exciting way to deal with fashion,” says the Brit about the project, in which the luxury brand is not focusing on commercialization but on creativity. Designers from the various disciplines will receive a carte blanche and enjoy freedoms that are by no means a matter of course in the industry.

Creative rope teams

Definitely one of the decisive reasons why the list of creative talents reads like a who’s who of the scene: Simone Rocha, Richard Quinn, Hiroshi Fujiwara,and Craig Green are to be found here, as is a cooperation with Rimowa and Poldo Dog Couture. The results speak for themselves and are right across the board: visionary, innovative, and above all versatile. Each collection surprises and does justice to the brand as well as the guest designers. Simone Rocha, for example, focuses on floral applications and romantic silhouettes, while her colleague Craig Green focuses on the sculptural. Anderson, who is famous for his modern and avant-garde approach to fashion, recalls his classics: “When I thought about the collection, I wanted to focus on the DNA of my brand - iconic designs from the archive that I wanted to inflate, not just symbolically, using the craft techniques used at Moncler. In doing so, he is paying homage to the core competence of the label, which was founded in 1952 and is based in mountain sports, and which has made a name for itself mainly because of its exclusive down jackets.

Up high!

Moncler has already made it very clear in recent years that they are not content with the sportswear segment alone. Thus, in the past with the women’s line “Moncler Gamme Rouge”, which was designed from 2006 to 2018 by none other than Giambattista Valli, and the men’s line “Moncler Gamme Blue”, which was in the hands of Thom Browne from 2009-2018, it has already been proven that high fashion is also one of the characteristics of the brand. With “Moncler Genius” the focus is now on an even more innovative approach that requires courage. “I think that cooperation is all about trust and about collaborating with another team whose work you appreciate. In my view, these are the decisive criteria of why it works. Moncler has never given me any limits or rules, and I have been free to pursue my vision,” says Anderson. Considering the terrific results, a stroke of genius!

For the “Moncler Genius x J.W. Anderson” collection, which will be available from the beginning of October, the British designer is focusing on unusual design and volume.

Photos: J.W.Anderson, Moncler Genius X J.W. Anderson