Jonathan Anderson Launches His Latest Moncler Genius Adventure Via a Podcast, Film Series and a Zine
In his second Moncler collaboration, Jonathan Anderson explores both his own British roots and the roots of the JW Anderson brand, giving a Moncler spin to JW Anderson archival pieces all the while delivering an interpretation of nomadic characters rooted in an idea of adventure.
To coincide with the launch, Moncler and JW Anderson have created a multi-disciplinary cultural program that offers a sensory deep-dive into a transient world. Launching the first in the Moncler Genius Podcast series, and partnering with the global curated film streaming service, MUBI, the program is conceived to paint a visual and aural landscape as a way to connect Jonathan Anderson’s conceptual imaginings to viewers and listeners at home, around the world.
Like the collection, the film curation and cultural discussion both walk the line between the straightforward and the abstract. The Moncler Genius Podcast series is hosted on Spotify launched as a virtual salon, where the most progressive minds in fashion riff on the subjects that matter. Hosted by the Director of Serpentine Galleries Hans Ulrich Obrist, the inaugural episode charters the designer’s personal journey, the all-encompassing experience of travel, and gets to the heart of the collection’s imagined voyage. The selection of films curated on MUBI ranges from art house short films to much loved cinematic documentation of journeys traveled, giving an insight into the mindset of the perennial traveler.
Depending on what country you live in, the curated film selection on MUBI includes:
Swept Away (Lina Wertmüller, 1974)
Travel Songs (Jonas Mekas, 1981)
Nomad (Patrick Tam, 1982)
Three Crowns of a Sailor (Raoul Ruiz, 1983)
Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984)
Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985)
The Green Ray (Éric Rohmer, 1986)
The Sheltering Sky (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1990)
Disappearance at the Sea (Tacita Dean, 1996)
The Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles, 2004)
Winter Nomads (Manuel von Stürler, 2012)
Further Beyond (Joe Lawlor and Christine Molloy, 2016)
I am not a Witch (Rungano Nyoni, 2017)
Pieces of tactile ephemera have been a consistent calling card of JW Anderson collections, and this trait continues with a limited-edition zine featuring the long-form interview between the designer and Hans Ulrich Obrist. The discussion of the cultural landscape is published amongst a selection of imagery crafted for the collection.
For the imagery, Anderson sets the stage at the seaside: fishermen sailing in deep waters, women waiting on terrafirma engaging in the crafty act of quilt-making, as the sunset reflects on the waters. As ever for JW Anderson, pieces are meant to be worn fluidly across genders. The eyelets and tri-stitching details of sailing apparel characterize parkas, field jackets, Bermudas and cargo pants, but also jersey T-shirts and sweatshirts, with vivid color block contrasts highlighting details – hood, pockets or closures.
A color block jacket, a dégradé vest, a pair of trousers and one of Bermuda shorts are also available in a sustainable version. The external fabrics are made with ECONYL®, a regenerated nylon derived from ocean and land-based waste. And we applaud their environmental awareness.
The faded hues of Northern Irish sunsets are transferred onto long jersey T-shirt dresses as well as on anoraks, giving a dreamy twist to the utilitarian trail which is the background theme of the collection, seen in the field jackets, culotte shorts and washed garment-dyed trench coats.
A vintage quilt inspires a whole selection of intricately quilted pieces, from the sustainable cotton long coat and cropped jacket to a feminine draped and gathered dress to inventive combinations of tops and culottes in delicate pastels hues.
The same spirit of collaging contrasting elements carries on in the accessories: colorful, commando-soled chelsea boots; tri-stitched Cordura totes; quilted handle bags.
