The Art of Exploration by adidas Originals. Image Courtesy of Moncler.
Monday 20th February wasn’t any ordinary Monday. And the London Fashion Week celebrations were certainly not over. In fact, they continued deep into the night at Olympia London for Moncler’s monumental event: The Art of Genius. Bringing together communities from music, art and fashion, The Art of Genius was a night of immersive installations, runways and performances.
Launching in 2018, Moncler Genius is a creative platform through which the Italian luxury fashion house explores the power of collaboration. Tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, the platform aims to establish a new DNA: a DNA built on co-creation and imagination. Fostering a creative exchange between some of the greatest minds across art, design, music and fashion, Moncler Genius becomes a space for conversation and innovation.
Especially for London Fashion Week, Moncler presented The Art of Genius to introduce this year’s roster of Genius co-creators: Pharrell Williams, Jay-Z, Palm Angels, adidas Originals and Alicia Keys, to name a few. Rumours stirred throughout the week, as show-goers speculated how Moncler would present such a grande line up. Imaginations considered the infinite possibilities of how one would do such a thing. Of course, that’s what Moncler Genius is all about: imagination.
The Art of Terrain by Pharrell Williams. Images Courtesy of Moncler.
Celebrating the imagination’s promise of infinity, The Art of Genius brought together immersive experiences and performances that reflect Moncler’s vision for the future of fashion. Each co-creator had curated their own immersive room, each one different from the last. The newly appointed Louis Vuitton director and prolific cultural icon Pharrell Williams worked with Moncler to create The Art of Terrain, a room transformed into a serene wilderness. As though pulled from a mythological tale, the room was decorated with glowing trees adorned with foliage and chairs made entirely from grass. As guests moved through the space, models wearing the Moncler x Pharrell Williams collection displaced themselves within the greenery. Functionality is at the heart of this collection: detachable pockets and sleeves, zippers that turn trousers into shorts, a picnic blanket that doubles as a cape (which Pharrell arrived at the event wearing).
LEFT The Art of Lightness by Palm Angels RIGHT The Art of Love by FRGMT. Images Courtesy of Moncler.
Other activations included a Palm Angels and Boiler Room collaboration that manifested in a sound installation foam party, and a room where you could interact with FRGMT’s ‘LOVOTs’ – robots designed to replicate human interaction with warmth and intensity. The theme of imagination continued with Mercedes-Benz’s activation, a surreal installation that confounded space and time. A five-metre high sculpture of the iconic off-roader G Class car, made from reflective material to resemble Moncler’s signature puffer, dominated the space while performers floated and danced in a low-gravity chamber. Interacting with audiences beyond the automotive, Mercedes-Benz proves to share the same vision of Moncler of pushing and challenging boundaries.
The Art of Imagination by Mercedes-Benz. Image Courtesy of Moncler.
Meanwhile, Moncler’s longtime collaborator Rick Owens (also known for his invention of the colour black) presented his capsule collection in collaboration with the luxury outerwear brand. Challenging the possibilities of design, the collection features solemn, elongated silhouettes in the form of flight jackets, puffers, skirts, shorts and tops. While the collection made its way down the metal runway, guests could dance away in the smoke-filled dance floor where several DJs played.
As the night continued, guests flocked to the main room where a special performance from Alicia Keys began. Singing all of her anthems, and guests singing them back to her, Keys dedicated the performance to “The Art of Dreaming,” a key source of inspiration and a nod to her hometown New York City.
“Expect the Unexpected”, is what Moncler said. And they were right. Capturing the infinite possibilities of the imagination, The Art of Genius was certainly a night to remember.
So no, this was no ordinary Monday.