A short history of luxury: the fascinating rise of Moncler

Fashion brand Moncler is celebrating its 70th anniversary in London with an extraordinary exhibition, promising to take visitors on an immersive journey inspired by the mountains.

To celebrate its 70th anniversary, the Franco-Italian fashion house Moncler opened the exhibition “The Extraordinary Expedition” in New York on 5 October. It was presented at the Frieze art fair in London from 12 to 16 October, before moving to Seoul and taking virtual form for an appearance in China via WeChat.

The exhibition draws on the brand’s heritage and the feeling of being in the mountains through immersive 360-degree imagery: sound design, olfactory effects and the sensation of snow and fog will transport curious visitors to the heart of the glaciers.

*Piazza del Duomo taken over by Moncler during Milan Fashion Week © Moncler*

The event is part of the brand’s anniversary celebrations, which began with a spectacular presentation in the Piazza del Duomo during Milan Fashion Week. Created with French contemporary dance choreographer Sadeck Berrabah, the event involved some 700 dancers.

History

Moncler’s origins date back to 1952. Ramillon and Andrè Vincent founded the company, whose name comes from the abbreviation of Monestier-de-Clermont, a mountain village near Grenoble, France. At the time, they designed clothing to protect workers. The workers wore them over their overalls. These garments offered great resistance and protection against the harshest of climates, and were later very suitable for various mountain expeditions.

*Moncler becomes official supplier to the French Alpine ski team © Moncler*

In 1954, the French mountaineer Lionel Terray noticed Moncler products for the first time and sensed their potential. This was the birth of the specialised “Moncler pour Lionel Terray” range. That same year, Moncler down jackets were chosen to equip the Italian expedition that led to the conquest by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli of the second highest peak in the world, K2, on the Sino-Pakistani border. In 1955, they equipped the expedition on the Makalù. In 1968, on the occasion of the Winter Olympic Games in Grenoble, Moncler became the official supplier of the French Alpine skiing team.

In the 1980s, under the stylistic direction of Chantal Thomass, Moncler entered the city, becoming the emblematic garment of a generation of young people. The Moncler down jacket was no longer worn only in the mountains, but also on the streets.

In 2003, the brand was bought by Italian entrepreneur Remo Ruffini, current chairman and CEO of the Moncler Group, who began a strategy of global expansion. He wants to make the brand a reference in luxury.

From then on, Remo Ruffini had the good idea of surrounding himself with designers to reinvent the down jacket. He opened the brand to a series of collaborations, with Junya Watanabe, Fendi and Balenciaga, then directed by Nicolas Ghesquière. These partnerships would later take the form of the Genius Project. They are the means of generating the “energy” that Remo Ruffini sees as the driving force of the brand. It was a resounding success for Moncler, which thus became a luxury brand known throughout the world.

*Moncler x Pierpaolo Piccioli colection – 2018 © Moncler*

Hélène Cougot

Passionnée depuis son plus jeune âge par l’art et la mode, Hélène s’oriente vers une école de stylisme, l’Atelier Chardon-Savard à Paris, avec une option Communication. Afin d’ajouter des cordes à son arc, elle décide de compléter sa formation par un MBA en Management du Luxe et Marketing Expérientiel à l’Institut Supérieur de Gestion à Paris dont elle sort diplômée en 2020. Elle a notamment écrit des articles lifestyle et beauté pour le magazine Do it in Paris et se spécialise en rédaction d’articles concernant le luxe, l’art et la mode au sein du magazine Luxus Plus.********** [EN] Passionate about art and fashion from a young age, Hélène went to a fashion design school, Atelier Chardon-Savard in Paris, with a Communication option. In order to add more strings to her bow, she decided to complete her education with an MBA in Luxury Management and Experiential Marketing at the Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris from which she graduated in 2020. She has written lifestyle and beauty articles for Do it in Paris magazine and specializes in writing articles about luxury, art and fashion for Luxus Plus magazine.