MILAN — Moncler Genius is planning what it is calling a “monumental” event in London on Feb. 20.
To be sure, the location is grand enough — the Olympia London, a 19th-century exhibition center and event space in West Kensington.
“In 2023, we are entering a new phase for Moncler Genius,” said chairman and chief executive officer Remo Ruffini. “While our commitment toward creativity and innovative thinking does not change, we are moving from a collaboration model to a platform for co-creation, allowing us to interact, learn, think and create something that didn’t necessarily exist before. We will tap into new communities, creators and disruptors from the world of art, design, entertainment, sport, fashion and culture. I am always thrilled by the idea of finding new ways to not only create but also invite new worlds to experience the brand.”
Called “The Art of Genius 2023,” the live show will present a lineup that includes friends of the house such as Alicia Keys; Pharrell Williams; Palm Angels, and Frgmt, as well as Mercedes-Benz; Adidas Originals; Salehe Bembury, and Roc Nation by Jay-Z. Bembury has designed footwear for Yeezy, Crocs, Versace and more. In September 2021, Keys was tapped to host the Moncler Mondogenius presentation in Milan.
The Moncler + Rick Owens collection will also be part of the event.
The event “sets the tone for a redefining year of Genius,” and the concept behind its new iteration is that “the new phase of co-creation focused on human creative skill and imagination” will allow “to make something each brand couldn’t achieve on its own,” the company said.
The multiformat event will present immersive experiences and performances to highlight creativity, “beauty and emotional power.”
The community will be able to participate to “The Art of Genius” with tickets available via registration at moncler.com. The event will also be livestreamed.
This is the first time Moncler Genius will be presented in London, where fashion week will run Feb. 17 to 23.
Ruffini has over the years driven Moncler’s growth by forming close relationships with designers ranging from Nicolas Ghesquière to Junya Watanabe, Giambattista Valli, who designed Moncler Gamme Rouge, and Thom Browne, who was in charge of the Moncler Gamme Bleu line for men. After 10 years of a successful run with the latter two projects, Ruffini overturned the company’s business model and strategy, launching Moncler Genius in 2018, a series of drops and capsules with designers including Richard Quinn and Matthew Williams of 1017 Alyx 9SM; Pierpaolo Piccioli; Simone Rocha; Craig Green; Fragment Hiroshi Fujiwara; Palm Angels’ Francesco Ragazzi, and Jonathan Anderson, as well as Rick Owens with a partnership in a different vein than other Genius tie-ups.
The company has held one Genius event a year since 2018, usually in February, inviting designers to interpret the brand’s signature puffers with their own sensibility.
In 2021, the brand added a new layer to the experience by presenting its collections in September through a digital activation across five cities — New York, Milan, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul — and through the vision of 11 designers, in a single show hosted by 15-time Grammy Award winner Keys.
During Moncler’s Capital Markets Day last May, Ruffini said that “Moncler Genius has become a hub of creativity, freedom and global communication. I strongly believe in the Moncler Genius model and in its ‘perennial’ development.” However, he underscored that from then on, the brand would also look to involve personalities or brands from “art, music, movies, sports and much more…the way you combine them, makes a brand unique.”
Ruffini at the time said that Moncler Genius accounts for between 5 and 10 percent of total sales.
In the nine months ended Sept. 30, sales at the Moncler Group, which also includes Stone Island, surpassed the 1.55 billion euros benchmark, compared with 1.17 billion euros in the same period of 2021. The Moncler brand posted a 21 percent gain in revenues in the nine months, reaching 1.25 billion euros.