PALM ANGELS RELEASES MONCLER COLLABORATION

COLLABORATION

PALM ANGELS TAKES MONCLER TO HEAVEN

JUNE 6, 2019

WORDS

by KRISTOPHER FRASER

PHOTOS

COURTESY of MONCLER

Moncler is onto its next iteration of the Genius Series after eight successful collaborations last year. The Moncler Genius World tour 19-20 sees the collaborations take themselves to new heights with designers including Richard Quinn, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Simone Rocha, Craig Green, 1017 Alyx 9sm, Hiroshi Fujiwara, and Palm Angels. The Palm Angels collaboration officially launches today, June 6 at Moncler stores and on Moncler.com. This collaboration marks the second time that Palm Angels designer Francesco Ragazzi has collaborated with the brand.

“The first collaboration I did with the brand was very small because it was part of the idea of doing merchandise for the genius project, this time is a much a bigger collection,” Ragazzi said. “It’s very important to me on a personal level. I've been working with Moncler for so many years and now I have my own collection, so it's an honor to be part of the Genius collaboration.”

The 8 Moncler Palm Angels collection is focused on “art breaking.” The launch of the collaboration featured a series of disruptive events that clashed the rules with defiant edge of the arts. The collection is an evolution of the “Art Breaking” theme first presented at the Moncler Genius event in Milan last February, where Ragazzi revealed his new collection in an impeccable gallery styled room, then subverted it by covering the works with paint. “This time I got to have an overall thought of what the event could be, and what the collection could be, it’s a much biger platform to work on,” Ragazzi said.

8 Moncler Palm Angels

“Moncler for me is about simplicity of a product that comes to life in many forms.”

–Francesco Ragazzi–

8 Moncler Palm Angels

Three days prior to the official launch at Moncler store worldwide, Ragazzi sent his conceptual tour to London, New York, and Milan, bringing an art showcase that reflected Palm Angels’ spirit by covering event spaces and store-fronts with the sharp colors that define the new collection. “I started with the idea of a vandalized art gallery. The purity of the lines and form that are in a second moment clashed with a protest. Moncler for me is about simplicity of a product that comes to life in many forms. I wanted to have the form broken,” he said.

Ragazzi is considered a provocateur. He managed to mix the classic style of Moncler with something darker, while keeping the function of the garments. “For me that’s the energy of bringing two things together in collection, to be able to mix them,” Ragazzi said. “This is something unusual for Moncler, and it brings my customer into Moncler and the Moncler customer into Palm Angels.”

This resulted in a collection of fearless urban silhouettes charged with a protest, almost punk spirit. The volumes are big and assertive, while laminated surfaces, either pristine or worn out, make for an eye-catching effect. Working around the clash of rarefied art gallery atmosphere and abrasive urban environment attitude, Ragazzi took inspiration from the candy wrapper metallic shades and trashed them.

“I’ve learned a lot about craftsmanship and it’s been a great learning process,” Ragazzi said. The fruits of his education are a reward for the Moncler customer.