Moncler Launches ‘City of Genius’ in Shanghai

The Moncler City of Genius spectacle wrapped up in Shanghai on Saturday night. Its latest roster of creative talents displayed their codesigned collections in their respective booths at the China Ship Pavilion by the Huangpu River. The luxury clothing maker is looking to shrug off the sector’s global malaise.

‘Shanghai, for me, is a significant city. And China has always been important to us for revenues and because of the culture here,’ said Moncler’s chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini during a press conference at Shanghai Bvlgari Hotel on Saturday afternoon. This is the first time in Asia that the latest chapter of Moncler’s Genius scheme is being unveiled.

It is understood that Ruffini was encouraged by representatives from Shanghai’s Jing district government right after the Genius event in London in February 2023 to consider Shanghai as the Genius journey’s next destination.

More than 8,000 guests attended ‘The City of Genius’ event, which featured separate pavilions for each of this year’s Moncler Genius collection collaborators. This list included high-profile names such as Edward Enninful, Rick Owens, A$AP Rocky, and Willow Smith. According to a company representative, the event was live streamed on WeChat, RED, Douyin, and Weibo, with 57 million people across the globe having watched it live.

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Since 2018, luxury clothing makers have invited creators from various fashion, music, and artistic fields to co-create collections that put their spin on Moncler’s down jackets. This year is no different, considering we saw various collections showcased in runaway shows, modeled in elaborate garden settings, and on a go-kart racetrack.

Enninful teamed with the clothing maker to release the first ready-to-wear collection under his name. Set in a dystopian future, the collection featured models traversing extreme weather conditions while performing ‘mundane’ tasks, such as walking the dog or sitting in an outdoor office.

The event arrives in Shanghai as the luxury world braces for a slowdown due in part to China’s slowing economy and consumer pullback. “It’s a massive investment based on a long-term, far-seeing strategy that goes way past the fact that the company’s now sorted for collections and content for the next year or so,” said Ruffini.

As for the next edition? “I think it will be outside Asia to touch different cultures. For example, it could be in the United States or another important country. I think this one is the Genius for Asia.”