Moncler Celebrates 70th Anniversary
MILAN — Moncler is planning a series of events to mark the brand’s 70th anniversary, but chairman and chief executive officer Remo Ruffini would rather look to the future.
“Yes, we want to celebrate, but what is the next step for Moncler’s next 70 years, what does tomorrow hold for us? These are the questions I am interested in,” mused Ruffini, presenting the “Extraordinary Forever” campaign conceived for the anniversary.
“The claim could sound presumptuous, but to continuously challenge ourselves is our strength,” he contended.
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Speaking from his office in Milan, surrounded by photos of snow-capped mountains, Ruffini was in high spirits ahead of the evening event to be held in Milan on Saturday during fashion week. It is expected to be quite a happening, with 1,952 musicians and dancers — the units a reference to the date of Moncler’s foundation — staging a performance in Piazza Duomo, the heart of the city housing the Gothic cathedral. They will all be wearing a white Maya jacket, the anniversary’s focus garment. A staunch believer in heritage and the brand’s roots, Ruffini chose this garment to symbolize Moncler’s seven decades in business.
What is key for Ruffini is to further expand Moncler’s reach to the different communities around the world. “Relationships are more important than transactions, if there are relationships, the transactions will follow,” he contended. “There is always an evolution of micro communities around the world, and to intercept them is a complex job, but this is what we have to do,” he admitted. “Luxury fashion used to be about exclusivity, but now it’s more important to build our communities,” which is a strategy that he has strongly embraced since 2018.
To this end, Moncler will stage the “Extraordinary Expedition” multicity events, running in New York Oct. 5 to 9 before touching down in London Oct. 12 to 16, coinciding with the Frieze art fair.
In Tokyo, it will have a long run, as Moncler will also set up a pop-up store from Nov. 1 to March 1 with new anniversary products. A leg in Seoul will kick off on Nov. 18 and close on Nov. 22.
In New York, London and Seoul, a multisensory film, olfactory effects and organic sensations of fog, rain and wind will contribute to the interactive and immersive experiences.
“Luxury is no longer about ownership, but rather about experiences,” Ruffini said.
Within each exhibit in New York, London and Seoul, seven “Memory Boxes” will display archival items, such as Moncler’s sleeping bag or the puffer jacket used in the first K2 expedition, among others.
There will also be a Chinese leg starting Oct. 20 that will be entirely virtual, available on personal WeChat profiles.
The Maya has been tweaked and reimagined in a limited-edition with 13 special colors, ranging from metallic platinum to a range of pastels or forest green, campfire orange and woodland violet — the outdoors clearly remaining a strong inspiration for Moncler and even more relevant for people after the pandemic, Ruffini believes.
Each jacket, except for the platinum version, is crafted in Moncler’s new, lightweight, washed and lacquered nylon. The new silhouette in a boxier fit offers even more freedom of movement with a practical enlarged hood, while poppers replace the front zip.
The “Extraordinary Forever anniversary” logo adorns the left sleeve pocket, where an infinity loop twins the original logo with the new 70th anniversary mountain emblem.
At the same time, Moncler will debut an NFT offering in a partnership with Arianee, the Web3 solutions platform created by digital artist Antoni Tudisco, and 500 limited-edition platinum Moncler Maya 70 jackets will be associated with an NFT. Through a QR code, owners of the Moncler Maya 70 jackets will claim their NFT, giving them early access to new products and invitations to exclusive events, among others. Ruffini admitted that the fashion industry is still exploring the metaverse, and that it is “important to start to understand and talk to the creative talents” that are activating NFTs.
Also, Ruffini has asked seven designers to revisit the Moncler Maya jacket, to be launched on a weekly basis from Oct. 15. They are Francesco Ragazzi of Palm Angels; Thom Browne; Hiroshi Fujiwara of Frgmt; Rick Owens; Giambattista Valli; Pierpaolo Piccioli, and Pharrell Williams. “These are designers that have contributed a lot to our journey,” Ruffini said.
Valli helped Moncler approach fashion shows and couture, enabling the brand to offer “more sophisticated” designs, and Williams contributed to “changing the image of the company and reach out to new global customers and opening us up to a new vision of music,” Ruffini explained.
He also praised the creativity of Piccioli, with his dreamy and daring designs, and of Browne. With his “sophisticated eye,” the latter helped Moncler experiment with cashmere and Harris tweed rather than nylon on its puffer jackets. Ruffini has known Ragazzi since he was a young boy and said he was “proud of his success with his own line, he deserves it.” Of Owens, the executive said he liked “his over-the-top personality and how he interpreted Moncler in a way that can survive fashion trends.” Speaking of Fujiwara, he said he was very interested in the designer’s “interpretation of American streetwear through a Japanese lens.”
This month, Moncler is launching the “Extraordinary Forever” campaign, celebrating 70 years of pioneering mountain history, reflecting Ruffini’s admiration and respect for the brand’s heritage.
Sixteen archival photos will be globally placed on several channels across digital, print and social, from the snow-capped 1954 photos of the Italian expedition to the summit of K2 to images of the first day at the Stock Exchange to the 1968 Olympic Winter Games in Grenoble and Milan’s “paninari” youth culture.
“It’s important to remind the new generations where we come from,” observed the CEO.
Ruffini’s turnaround of Moncler can easily be billed as a textbook case. He bought what he called his “dream brand” in 2003, dusting off its collections, spearheading its global expansion, wiping out its debt, turning it into a luxury fashion label and publicly listing it in Milan in December 2013 — a decision he still stands by, with no intention to delist. Moncler is now part of a group, since the acquisition of the Stone Island brand in 2020.
In 2021, the group reported revenues that surpassed the 2-billion-euro mark, rising 44 percent compared with 1.4 billion euros in 2020.
In the first half of the year, Moncler beat analysts’ expectations with a 46 percent surge in group revenues to 918.4 million euros at constant exchange, bolstered by double-digit increases at Moncler and Stone Island and a “strong response” to the spring 2022 collections.
“We have learned to be flexible, and the company has reaped unexpected results. The first half was exceptional,” he said.
Ruffini admitted “the current volatility is impressive,” and pointed to uncertainties including the higher cost of energy, the U.S. mid-term elections, China’s lockdowns and the inflation, which lead him to avoid “long-term business plans written in stone.” Instead, he believes in “solid vision and foundations, following our uniqueness.”
Asked about his contributions to Moncler and if he had any regrets, Ruffini said he was pleased he “never simply chased a sales growth. I wanted to establish a healthy brand because if you have that, I think results will follow.”
He is now addressing one opportunity he felt he neglected and wants to make it right. That is, building the U.S. market. “We are underrepresented, but it offers huge potential.” He plans to travel more and in particular to the U.S. as he is “interested in learning about the communities” in cities beyond New York City, New York, or Los Angeles, California, citing Nashville, Tennessee, for example.
Looking ahead, Moncler will reveal the new phase of the Genius line in February.
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