By Amalie Meland and Charlotte Mair
Moncler closed Fashion Week with a new concept fashion show. It’s the brand’s first London Fashion Week, event open to 10,000 members of the public who could experience the art of Moncler’s Genius for free at the iconic Olympia exhibition hall.
The event showcased the brand’s new co-collaborators: Rick Owens; Jay -Z’s Roc Nation; Alicia Keyes; Frgmt; Pharrell Williams; Adidas; Palm Angles, and Mercedes Benz.
The area was heaving, with a highly unorganised queue of over 10,000 people congregating outside the venue. Despite the requisite safety measures in place, there was no organisation of the queue or staff in place to ensure that the crowd was orderly.
Due to the online registration of limited tickets for free and a city-wide advertising campaign early entry, many sought freebies and early entrance, which resulted in queue-cutting despite the queue covering the outside of Olympia and the surrounding streets.
After extensive security checks visitors were allowed in, able to wander around numerous exhibition spaces. The first was the new Adidas Moncler collaboration, which showcased models on display in boxes, similar to mannequins. This showcased the innovation of Adidas with the collaboration which tied in each brand’s signature style.
A further exhibition showcased various Moncler collaborations, such as Mercedes Benz. This consisted of an installation of screens amongst a skyscape, revealing a five-meter high two-tonne sculpture of a Mercedes Benz G- Class car, covered in what resembled the famous chrome Moncler puffer jacket. The grandeur of the vehicle was paired with a performing art piece for models who were suspended from the ceiling.
Going from the Mercedes exhibition space upstairs was the Rick Owens showcase. This consisted of a Berghain-inspired rave space with strobe lights. The models walked around a Moncler X Rick Owens sleeping pod, which resembled the jackets of the models. The pieces were authentic to the Rick Owens aesthetics which made the collaboration seem authentic to the brand.
Another exhibition room contained another performing art piece created by Hiroshi Fujiwara, who is acclaimed by hype beast to be the “godfather of streetwear”. The Frgmt collection, “the art of love”, was shown on models as well as Moncler robots. The collection was shown in a bright white spherical space which we visitors to queue to view from small windows, as the models were attending to the robots and entertaining them around the space.
Due to the 10,000 plus in attendance, it was difficult to see all the exhibitions. There were queue wait times of up to 50 minutes to see Jay-z’s Roc Nation “the art of it all” exhibition space. Saleh Bembury showcased his collaboration “ the art of elements” in a sand-filled space with models walking amongst the sand around a mars like globe in the centre of the space. Palm Angels “ the art of lightening”, featured a red-lit boiler room DJ set complete with a foam fit which visitors were given palm angels jackets to wear in the exhibition.
Pharrell Williams “ the art of terrain”, was inspired by earth tones and terrain wear.
The show was closed by a performance by Alicia Keyes, who sang with musical guests such as Little Sims and Cleo Sol. There was a vast number of celebrities in attendance such as Pharrell Williams, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Serena Williams, Naomi Campbell, Lewis Hamilton, Rick Owens, and Charli XCX.
For visitors who had never before experienced a similar fashion show, it was fascinating to see each exhibition and to learn about the origins of the inspiration of each garment. What Moncler was able to do with each space and the inclusivity of the event made it the stand-out show of this Autumn/ Winter London Fashion Week season.
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