JIL SANDER COZIES UP TO MONCLER
words by VERONICA TLAPANCO SZABÓ
Tradition has it that when a creative director exits a fashion house, it’s only courteous to leave supporters with a parting gift. So it was with Lucie and Luke Meier, who marked their departure from Jil Sander with a final project with the luxury outerwear brand Moncler. The collaboration first appeared on the horizon at last year’s City of Genius event in Shanghai, a gathering where ten guest designers, 8,000 attendees, and an astonishing 57 million viewers came together to witness Moncler’s most ambitious event yet. Moncler has long welcomed creative minds from all disciplines into this project, but this edition felt bigger, brighter, almost like a “metropolis of creativity.” And now, a year on, we’re finally invited to wander through the Jil Sander neighbourhood, discovering every thoughtful detail that went into its making.
all images courtesy of MONCLER and JIL SANDER
When thinking of Moncler the first thing that comes to mind are those generously padded pillowy puffer jackets. After all it’s their niche, the brand was started in Monestier-de-Clermont, Grenoble, France, in 1952 with the intention of marrying the extreme demands of nature with those of a city life. These roots remain fixed while gently inviting in Jil Sander’s refinement of cuts and play on details. Take for instance the classic cocoon-like puffer shape, which was now swapped out in favour of more crisp clean lines, refined silhouettes, neutral palettes, and natural textures.
We all know and love Jil Sander for its unconditional dedication to design and the perfection of details which paints Moncler’s logo in a new light, one of a jewellery-like silver-tone pin, curved and circular yet still offering a distinctive nod to the brand’s identity.
Moncler and Jil Sander both draw heavily from the aforementioned natural world, which serves as an endless source of influence in shape and silhouette. Their collaborative design language is then defined by a sense of ‘roundness’ that one can witness in the snow-capped peaks and rolling hills all the way down to the dense foliage and smooth pebbles around the alps, inspiring bulbous jackets, padded cardigans, and dome-shaped skirts.
Jil Sander enters Moncler’s extensive collaboration legacy, yet the Meiers diverge from those before them, delivering a collection defined by pure everlasting minimalism.
