Biography - THE STORY OF A FRENCH JACKET EMBRACED IN MILAN THAT WENT GLOBAL
From a mountain village near Grenoble to the “paninari” of Milan, and on to the world’s runways: a journey through the world of Moncler.In December 2020, Moncler
made headlines in Italy with its acquisition of Stone Island, or rather the Sportwear Company that holds the brand, giving life to a hub of Italian luxury. But the purchase
is just the latest move for the historic label, dating back to 1952 in France (the name is simply the abbreviation of Monestier de Clermont, a mountain village near Grenoble).
Behind it all was the entrepreneur René Ramillon, who with this new brand dedicated himself to producing padded sleeping bags, a lined jacket and tents with a telescopic
structure, just as Europe was discovering mountain vacations.
While the snowy landscapes were filled with tourists and alpinists, Moncler’s jackets remained in fabric, worn by workers over their overalls to keep warm. At least until
1954, when alpinist Lionel Terray decided to explore the potential of technical clothing for excursions, working with Moncler on a specialty line for the Italian expedition
in the Karakorum along with Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli. Wearing Moncler, they would summit the second tallest peak in the world.From that moment, it was a
landslide of physical feats in the most rigid of climates, all while wearing the French jackets that had become increasingly manageable and light. But it wasn’t until the early
‘70s that we’d see the first down jackets as we understand them today: the real turning point came with the “Nepal” model, equipped with leather shoulders to rest skis on
without damaging the fabric and worn by countless skiers discovering a new tourism on the snow, soon destined to become a mass phenomenon across Europe.
It wouldn’t take long for the transition from ski holidays to fashion week. With the arrival of the ‘80s, Parisian stylist Chantal Thomas began to collaborate with Moncler,
replacing zippers with buttons and introducing fur linings, satin, and reversible fabrics for down jackets in the city.Among the first to intercept the new Moncler jackets
and to establish them as a distinctive accessory were the teens of Milan’s upper class, meeting in front of the Il Panino snack bar, listening to New Wave music on their
Vespas and earning the nickname of paninari, a style that went on to sweep the nation. On their feet, Timberland boots were paired with cuffed jeans and button-up shirts o
r checkered polos. But the real must-have, what we still remember them for, were the puffy Moncler jackets in brilliant bold colors. “In the mid-’80s, at the peak of the
paninari boom, Moncler sold about 40,000 pieces worldwide,” Remo Ruffini told the New York Times just a few years ago. “Of those, 30,000 were in the Milan area.”
The phenomenon lasted just a few years, because, as Ruffini explains, those jackets were designed for the snow, and weren’t water-resistant: when it rained during a ride on
the Vespa, the jacket wound up weighing 5 or 10 kgs!
In fact, the brand’s city jackets arrived with Ruffini, the current President and CEO, who purchased the company in 2003 and organized a plan to relaunch the label by
weaving together its heritage, technological innovation and aesthetic research. “In 2003, Moncler was a company that had forgotten where it came from, but it was still
very much alive in the collective imaginary, that shiny and colorful jacket, an emblem of the ‘80s,” he explained in a recent interview. “My initial idea was to restart from
the roots of Moncler, to remind everyone of its history, its French origins, the moments of glory between the Olympics of Grenoble and the alpine achievements. But, at
the same time, I wanted to created something ‘global’. My dream was that, one day, in everyday language, we’d say ‘Moncler’ to express the term “down jacket’, just like we
say Bic for a ballpoint pen.”
In 2006, the Haute Couture Moncler Gamme Rouge collection arrived, designed first by Alessandra Facchinetti and then by Giambattista Valli, which was followed by the
Moncler Gamme Blue men’s line (2009), designed in collaboration with American stylist Thom Browne. Then there was Moncler Grenoble (2010), with which the brand revisited
its history, giving a contemporary spin to skiwear and after-ski fashion.
Collaborations with artists and stylists followed along with new markets (above all, the line of Moncler Lunettes glasses), all the way to the Genius project, launched in 2018:
“A republic of imagination” and “a hub of exceptional minds operating in unison while simultaneously cultivating their singularity.” The first creatives invited were Pierpaolo Piccioli,
Simone Rocha, Craig Green, Kei Ninomiya with his brand Noir, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Palm Angels, with Liya Kebede, Sergio Zambon and Veronica Leoni, Sandro Mandrino, Matthew
Williams of 1017 ALYX 9SM, Richard Quinn, Francesco Ragazzi and Poldo Dog Couture, and JW Anderson arriving later.
With this, we arrive in 2020, and the recent acquisition of Stone Island, the last piece of a great project that looks to redefine our idea of luxury, understood (to quote Ruffini)
as “an open and participatory universe, which thrives on community, experientiality and cultural exchanges, where communication is always interaction and where aspirations go
beyond possession to become ‘belonging’.”
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