THE JOURNAL
If you like to style out the winter months by heading into high altitude environs, whether mountain trails or ski slopes, you’ll no doubt be well versed in optimal layering. You’ll want to layer up in a way that allows you to move freely, to be ready for any kind of weather conditions and, ideally, you’d like to do all this in style.
We hear you. If those are the kind of boxes you’d like to tick, then can we suggest you consider packing Moncler Grenoble this ski season. For this is a brand with many layers. A skiwear and après-ski diffusion line first introduced by Moncler in 2010, it has all the trademark panache of the main label – poppy colours, high-gloss finishes – married to an incredibly precise dedication to the science of peak performance sportswear.
If you want to get really nerdy about why Moncler Grenoble is a great fit for ski season, we can (it is after all, what we do best). The Lagorai hooded jacket from Moncler Grenoble’s AW22 collection is an excellent example of all of the above in action. On the outside, this is an incredibly handsome quilted ski jacket in a striking blue that wouldn’t look out of place on the backs of style cognoscenti in the vibiest hotspots, whether alpine or urban.
But lift the bonnet on this stylish outerwear and there is a hive of engineering activity at play. A waterproof shell is paired with a quilted inside layer. A ventilation system along its front zip makes for an imminently breathable garment. In this way, Moncler Grenoble’s design team sweats the small stuff, so you don’t have to. Every possible weather front is considered, with built-in show gaiters to keep your mitts warm and dry, and a waterproof inner pocket to pack away your essentials.
That Moncler Grenoble does quilted jackets incredibly well comes as no surprise to anyone with a grounding in the brand’s heritage. Creating lightweight, super warm pieces has always been at the heart of the Moncler project. It’s 70 years since two local entrepreneurs in the small Alpine village of Monestier-de-Clermont in southeast France – Messrs René Ramillon and Andrè Vincent – established a small business making quilted sleeping bags for mountaineers. Moncler, an abbreviation of their hometown, then moved into jackets designed to keep local factory workers warm.
Moncler has conquered various peaks since then. The brand’s duvet jackets were worn by Italian mountaineers Messrs Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli on the first ascent of K2, the second-highest mountain peak in the world. And their technical skiwear range is named after the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France where Moncler outfitted the French downhill skiing team. In the 1980s, the brand proved its prowess in the competitive arena of youth culture, when its brightly coloured quilted jackets were adopted by the label-obsessed Italian Paninaro. While many influences converged to get us to where we are today – with sportswear as high fashion, and mountain gear as likely to be seen on a catwalk or a Drake video – Moncler adds a crucial layer to the story.
It's as evident as ever in Moncler Grenoble’s AW22 collection, which showcases ski gear that is an of-the-zeitgeist example of contemporary sportswear style. Its padded ski pants are designed for peak performance at high altitude with padding for insulation, a breathable shell and that signature bold colour blocking for ultra-visibility on the slopes.
But the collection’s pieces are not limited to those fit for wearing on higher ground. It turns out those primary-colour-Moncler-wearing Italian kids in the 1980s had it right; this is a brand that harnesses the desire for sportswear worthy of wearing at sea level. The egg-yolk-yellow base layer may be primarily functional, but it brings the party to après-ski socialising.
And why keep Moncler Grenoble just for the ski season? When a brand marries high performance gear to arresting design nous, then we say wear it whenever and wherever you like. The fluoro orange and punchy lettering motif of the Mazod ripstop jacket is so striking, it could easily take you out on the town. What we’re saying, is there’s layers to the Moncler Grenoble story. This season, you’d do well to make them yours.