The Many Colours of Moncler Genius FW19
Moncler staged its third and biggest Moncler Genius presentation at Milan Fashion Week this month, appropriately dubbed "One House, Different Voices". There were 10 "voices" in all — including newcomers Matthew Williams of 1017 ALYX 9SM and rising British designer Richard Quinn — and each presented their Fall/Winter 2019 offerings for the collaborative project in individual vaults under Milan’s central railway station.
Streetwear-inspired sensibilities permeated the Moncler Genius collections this season, due in part to the addition of Matthew Williams, who was behind the now defunct Been Trill with Virgil Abloh. His current label, 1017 ALYX 9SM, is best known for its luxurious, industrial aesthetic. At his Moncler Genius presentation, that manifested itself in technical knitwear, bonded leather jackets and chain belts made with Williams' signature Rollercoaster belt fastening (you may also recall seeing those at the Dior Men's PF19 show.) Williams also garment-dyed a handful of puffer jackets (a first for the Moncler staple), while coating a few others with the very stuff they're made of: feathers.
6 Moncler 1017 ALYX 9SM FW19
Elsewhere, Fragment's Hiroshi Fujiwara married his vintage and military codes with Americana-inspired silhouettes, which were boldy emblazoned with mysterious slogans. Palm Angels' Francesco Ragazzi looked to graffiti and contemporary American artist-provocateur Jeff Koons for inspiration, resulting in a series of ballooning, paint-splattered puffers that boasted the metallic sheen of Koons' sculptures. The colossal jackets of Craig Green's collection glided against the ceiling like flotation device — a nod to his focus on lightness this season — and each could be folded, flattened and packed neatly into small squares.
Once again, Valentino's Pierpaolo Piccioli brought a touch of couture to Moncler Genius, though this time through padded evening dresses with bulbous sleeves and cocooning hoods. Piccioli's new nylon laqué creations were also bursting with colour thanks to the traditional African patterns they were adorned with. These were designed by Liya Kebede, founder of sustainable Ethiopian fashion label Lemlem, whom Piccioli chose to collaborate with this season.
“I felt I wanted to add the feeling of another perspective—specifically the Liya perspective," he said. "I think that inclusivity is not a just word; I really believe in the idea of working together in a way that gives you new points of view... So this collection is to show that the dream of couture should be allowed for everybody, and that’s why the idea of Liya worked so well.”
1 Moncler Pierpaolo Piccioli FW19
Feminine undertones were also echoed over at Simone Rocha's presentation, which was set in a forest of silver birch trees. There, models clad in tent-like capes, pearl-embellished headpieces and all manner of outerwear laced with Rocha's signature Broderie Anglaise established a new, irresistably girly camping unifrom.
For his Moncler Genius debut, Richard Quinn made a splash with a visually arresting collection screaming with loud prints: zebra, cheetah, rainbow and many, many florals. Besides outerwear, those bold patterns found their way on bodysuits, pumps, padded thigh-high boots and even helmets, the kind that models sported at Quinn's FW18 show attended by the Queen.
Discover the rest of the Moncler Genius FW19 presentation, including the new 2 Moncler 1952 and 3 Moncler Grenoble collections, in the gallery below:
