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Moncler, the star of the snow
From the mountains to the podiums: a brand’s odyssey
Moncler is the best of both worlds: born in the mountains and grew up in the city, oscillating between tradition and state-of-the-art, the call of the summits and the rustle of the pavement.
“Moncler,” as in Monestier-de-Clermont: a village between the Vercors massif and the Dévoluy Mountains, near Grenoble (France). It’s a brand with their feet firmly in the terrior, and their head in the mountains. The story begins in 1952, when a few goose feathers were stuffed into a vest to keep factory workers warm while they made sleeping bags and tents with a telescopic structure. The goose duvet was remarkably warm, and the idea quickly became a product, which, in turn, was quickly adopted by alpinist Lionel Terray. Born and bred in Grenoble, Lionel was on the expedition team that had been the first Frenchmen to ascend the 8,000 m of Annapurna and was preparing to tackle Makalu – entirely dressed in Moncler. The brand even designed a collection in his name. A decade later, the Olympic Games came to Grenoble, and it was a big moment for Moncler. The French ski team was clad in the brand’s parkas and they won gold – three times, in the case of Jean-Claude Killy. For the rest of the world, the down jacket became synonymous with Moncler.
A starry slope
The 1980s saw the brand’s down jackets attain fashion icon status. The biggest brands in fashion took note and Moncler developed a collaboration with designer Chantal Thomass, who ditched the zippers for buttons, rhinestones, satin, and fur. At the same time, in Italy, Moncler’s down jacket, with its sausage-like rolls and bold colours, became a fetish fashion piece for teens in Milan. The brand had broken out of the Alps.
Today, more than ever, haute couture and luxe are centre stage. The down jacket, reappropriated as sportswear, has exploded from its mountain roots and blossomed in every major city through a vast network of Moncler boutiques. Collaborations with famous designers became the norm, like the partnership with Japanese designer Chitose Abe, who invented the down dress, or American singer Pharrell Williams. In 2018, the brand developed their Genius project to categorize their collections with outside designers. Since then, names like Hiroshi Fujiwara – the godfather of Japanese streetwear and current Art Director for Givenchy – the pope of workwear Craig Green, the Japanese brand Hyke, the remarkable Sandro Mandrino and many, many others have put their name on Moncler collections.
All roads lead to Grenoble
The brand has not forgotten its mountain-based DNA. It cultivates it with lines like its Trailgrip shoes, which boast crampon-esque tread, and their unfailing Grenoble collection, which is extremely technical but in the most modern styles that fit right in for the after-ski ambiance. With patches of bright colours, heat-sealed seams, rigid visors, and waterproof zippers, the Brizon, Hintenburg, and Cerniat models (the latter with double duvet) all play dual roles between their certified style and their ability to take on a blizzard without skipping a beat! And if you want to make a toast, the reversable Hostun jacket adapts to fit both on- and off-piste situations.
And if that’s not enough, as a founding member of Fashion Pact, Moncler is committed to being more environmentally sustainable moving forwards. Its recent Born to Protect collection, which exclusively uses materials with low environmental impact, is proof of concept and a beautiful way for the brand to celebrate its 70th anniversary.
