If some far-flung locations chosen for destination runway shows are often only tenuously linked to the brand on show, Moncler’s latest Grenoble presentation – held on the snow-capped Alpine peaks of historic Swiss ski resort St Moritz this past weekend – was a trip which made perfect sense.
And this is not simply because Moncler itself was born in the Alps just over 70 years ago in France’s Monestier-de-Clermont, with founders René Ramillon and André Vincent seeking to create a quilted sleeping bag for mountaineers scaling the heights of the locale. Rather, take even the briefest of wanders around downtown St Moritz – long known as a bolthole for royalty and the super-rich when they wish to hit the slopes – and you will see just how omnipresent Moncler’s outerwear is among the resort’s clientele (one can surmise that this is down to the sweet spot the brand hits in its outerwear between exclusivity, functionality and style).
High-fashion altitude: Moncler Grenoble hits St Moritz
The location is also a favourite of Remo Ruffini, Moncler’s chairman and CEO, whose tenure at the brand has transformed its fortunes, making it into a major fashion player, with blockbuster shows and collaborators to match. In 2022, Moncler hosted an 18,000-people-strong outdoor presentation in Milan’s Duomo square to celebrate 70 years, while a vast immersive happening in London’s Olympia last February featured collaborations with Pharrell Williams, Rick Owens and Adidas, among others. He has called St Moritz his spiritual ‘second home’, having wintered in the resort since childhood.
And so the weekend proved a whistle-stop tour of his beloved home from home – from Moncler’s first store (which opened this past December) to dinner at Langosteria, a chalet-like restaurant which teeters on one of the resort’s vertiginous peaks, with expansive views of the slopes beyond and a permanent Moncler-clad duck on its terrace. (Ruffini’s investment firm Archive acquired a stake in the Milan-based restaurant chain in 2018). Fittingly, the day of the show began with the offer of time to ski or snowshoe on the slopes of Corviglia, before fondue was served at Paradiso restaurant in the glaring winter sun. Guests, including the actress Anne Hathaway, mingled on the chalet’s deck, as a gleaming version of the Moncler logo asserted the brand’s dominance over the slopes.
Later that evening, in a phalanx of Moncler-branded black cars, and each clad in their specially provided white puffer cape, we were shuttled once again to the upper reaches of the resort, to the Alphütte Clavadatsch. This historic cabin provided basecamp for the blockbuster runway show (while we waited, hot mugs of mulled wine or sake were served, as guests huddled on benches decorated with faux fur). At around 7pm, we began the walk upwards to the show space itself, which was located in a snow-covered pine forest, through which a winding runway had been carved. Wrapped in blankets with thermos flasks of hot drinks, we were instructed to wear a pair of headphones playing the soundtrack of a soaring collection of Italian operatic greats, as the trees were projected with a series of lasers, and a mist of dry ice lent an atmospheric tinge to proceedings.
Watched on by Hathaway – who was joined by Kate Moss, musician Willow Smith, snowboarder Shaun White and skier Gus Kenworthy – the show itself was a vast demonstration of Moncler Grenoble, the technically focussed line from the brand which is largely designed for use on the slopes (as Moncler asserts, its history is rooted in this functionality having kitted out expeditions to K2, Makalu and Alaska, as well as becoming the official outfitter to the French national alpine skiing team during the Grenoble Winter Olympic Games in the late 1960s). Though the collection itself, which spanned over 90 looks – here worn by a slew of international models and personalities in the show, including Emily Ratajkowski, Irina Shayk and Mariacarla Boscono – straddled not only technical innovation but also creative flair.
So alongside enveloping outerwear (some with patchwork motifs recalling those found on Fair isle sweaters), sleek-lined ski suits, goggles, helmets and skis (naturally, all Moncler-adorned), were elements of style and play – whether enormous faux-fur yeti boots and jackets, intarsia-knit sweaters, or a beautiful series of shearling pieces, some in-set with knit panels which would look equally at home during cold spells at sea-level. Moncler likened the eclectic mood of the collection to the gathering of people in a St Moritz chalet – a combination of winter sun worshippers, hardcore winter sportspeople and aprés-ski revellers; ‘a gathering and mingling of different worlds’. As guests exited the show, a series of musicians played the elongated Alpine horn, a symbolic link between mountain dwellers old and new.
The night ended in one of Ruffini’s favourite haunts, Dracula’s, a storied St Moritz members club where aprés-ski often runs into the early hours (befitting its name, the red-tinged interior and vampiric logo recalls Bram Stoker’s most famous protagonist, while stickers are placed on phone cameras to preserve the club’s mystique). Willow Smith entertained on the piano as champagne-swilling guests mingled with St Moritz regulars – a high-altitude clientele who will no doubt be clad in full Moncler Grenoble, both on and off the slopes, when the collection arrives in stores later this year.
Moncler Grenoble is available from moncler.com.
