On the most frigid night in memory, with record-breaking temps ranging from Siberian cold to outer-reaches-of-space cold, Moncler staged its Grenoble collection-cum-performance for Fall—outside. In the middle of Lincoln Center Plaza, models modeled and performers performed while showgoers looked on in post-shiver hypothermic silence, huddling together for a scintilla of warmth and fiddling with phones that had long since frozen. Company brass declined an interview, and it’s not hard to see why.
But let’s not dwell on unfortunate force majeure; the show must go on, and it did. Following the performance—loosely based on college marching bands, but feeling more like an army from the retro-future suited up in blue uniforms and marching in lock-step formation—the moment had come to see the wares. Beginning with a high-performance alpine array and ending with fur-clad après-ski looks, the show covered all the Italian-French brand’s bases. And, while not to be confused with Moncler’s couturish Gamme Rouge (women’s) or Gamme Bleu (men’s) line—designed by Giambattista Valli and Thom Browne, respectively—Grenoble also managed to push some boundaries, for instance a macro-houndstooth check, lacquer embroidery, waterproof tartans, and a newfound focus on snowboarding. If only these must-haves could be had now.
