Giving a voice to personal creativity, Moncler Genius extends its pioneering spirit for 2020. Boundaries were broken as designers were invited to give their unique take on Moncler, delving beyond fashion and into the world of experience.

Designer Veronica Leoni was called upon for the Moncler 1952 Women’s Collection. Interpreting the outdoors attitude synonymous with the brand with a fierce feminine instinct and in a modern and functional way. Shapes and silhouettes are soft, elongated and exaggerated, merging the utilitarian with the languid - creating powerful and elegant pieces. Delicate knitwear adds textured layering along with wools and velvets. Accessories take form in chunky-soled boots and shoes with chain details or metal rings. A colour palette of blacks, blues and tans are highlighted by bright touches of pink, red and powder blue.

Upon the release of the Moncler 1952 Women’s Collection, see the full Moncler editorial with model Mariacarla Boscono and interview with Veronica Leoni below.

How do you think when you are introduced to the Moncler Genius Project?

I met Mr Ruffini in his office 2 years ago. We had a chat and he told me about this great idea he was working on for Moncler and how he envisioned the Genius Project in the future. It was such a cool idea and he was so passionate and so convincing that we started working a few days later.

What is the most impressive experience that you’ve been through since your collaboration with Moncler 2018?

Every Genius event, season after season has become the most impressive experience!

Could you share with us the inspiration of creating 2 Moncler 1952 collection?

I started the season envisioning a collective of bold and strong women looking for beauty! Women who won’t give up their freedom, who are able to indulge in femininity and at the same time contaminating it in a modern, active and functional way. And immediately all the ingredients came spontaneously together making sense, offering silhouettes and bodies to the story telling. Great inspiration came from the exoticism of the beginning of the 20th century and from many of the iconic women of the time. I wanted to set Moncler into a decadent imagery. And they became 21st century flappers, able to mix their original extravagances and transgressions with more urban and functional details. Utilitarian contaminated by languid and vice versa. Great awareness of the body is needed!

Moncler’s most typical nylons have been the fil rouge between my fantasies and the brand. They were manipulated, draped, transformed and inflated of course, in order to be the constant presence and main ingredient of the formula!

How did you come up with the idea of collaboration with gender equality group “Girl Up”?

I’ve known Girl Up and the amazing work they have been doing for almost a decade. I wanted the Genius project and Moncler to be part of it and Mr. Ruffini welcomed my proposal with great excitement! I loved the idea to make the Genius project not just a creative hub for different voices, but an active platform challenging the status quo and promoting differences and gender equality.

I really hope, as a woman, that what we are feeling now is the wind of change and all of us, supporting and encouraging new generations will be able to achieve results which should sound obvious but are far from our daily lives. Guaranteeing the access to education is not just key to empower new generations of girls, it’s actually the first instrument to fight prejudice, violence and hate, and build up a better society where there won’t be space for such a thing.

This cannot be utopia anymore. We’ve all got the opportunity to be the change and I’m excited Moncler is an active part of it!

We could find loose fitting cuts, layering of textures and three-dimensionality in this collection, but at the same time with feminine elegance and power. How did you achieve the both?

I’m working here around the idea of a female wardrobe able to merge and articulate functional pieces of outerwear, sometimes extremely sporty and technical, with a contemporary feeling of femininity. Never giving up a certain level of sophistication, and making the puffer jacket more like a statement for any kind of outfit and occasion.

I’m very interested in contaminations which I guess is the instrument to balance / unbalance all the features you mentioned.

I believe a collection can be a complex multi-sensorial experience with layers of creativity laying under and above the clothes themselves.

I like to touch and see. Visual and tactile to me become part of the process since the very beginning. That’s the way fabrics and knit, with their hand, textures and colors, used to take a lot of my time.

I personally pursue a sort of immediacy and pureness to be able to bring awareness and attitude at the same time. Effortless wearability with the maximum of style, so to empower aesthetically the woman who will wear my pieces.

What would be the three words to describe 2 Moncler 1952 collection?

Eclectic – Effortless - Essential.

It is said that fashion clothing is not really wearable. What do you think about “Ready-to-wear” and “Fashion”?

The perfect collection is generally articulated to be both, fashionable and “ready to wear”. To me the best result is when the two features overlap: I love to see people on the street wearing my collection without compromising their appearance neither in attitude nor in wearability!

Many designers are fascinated by something from a certain era. How about you?

Of course, I’ve got my fetishes and obsessions! But I like very much to challenge myself with not obvious references and see where I end up!

Does the thing you are obsessed with have any influence on your design?

Indeed! I’m quite spontaneous and straight forward in what I do.

You’ve earned the stripes from the renowned ateliers of Jil Sander and Phoebe Philo in Celine. What are the characteristics of the two designers that appeal to you?

Jil Sander and Phoebe Philo are in between the greatest talents of our fashion system. They taught me a lot on a professional side as well as on a more personal basis. They both lived creativity so intensely and deeply, giving so much of themselves to their projects.

They represented in different ages something cultural for women’s wardrobes. They have been the faces of a proper revolution, reshaping radically the image of femininity and becoming iconic.

How do you think the fashion industry will change / develop in the post-pandemic world? Do you have any expectations of yourself facing the new challenge?

Change and evolution are part of fashion itself by definition. I guess the next few months will be strategically fundamental to understand where the industry needs to go and how to adapt to new needs accordingly. I think it’s crucial discussing how in such a tough period fashion can still be relevant, meaningful. What does it mean to produce something with value which goes beyond the clothes themselves and creates an honest desire? We can’t be shallow and we can’t avoid facing the brutal reality we are experiencing worldwide on a daily basis. We need to be involved, we need to be committed to our work with a deeper ethic, honesty and authenticity and I’m sure everything based on quality and real talent will survive this.

These are cruel and fertile times. We just need to stay on the right side. And this is what I’ll be focusing on in the next few months.

The 2 Moncler 1952 Women’s Collection is available from September 3 at Moncler Westfield Sydney Store.

Be sure to catch our feature interview and shoot with our latest model muse Cindy Wang wearing the collection. And don’t miss our discussion with Simone Rocha on her personal collaboration with Moncler Genius.