SAINT MORITZ — Moncler Group chairman and chief executive officer Remo Ruffini knows how to drive his message home.
After rebooting Moncler Grenoble as a high-performance brand, Ruffini has been working to differentiate it from the company’s Collection and Genius labels, investing in the product offer, distribution and communication, with high ambitions. The Moncler Grenoble fall 2024 coed fashion show held here Saturday evening perfectly reflected his strategy, as he shined a light on the fashion as well as the brand’s advanced technology with an event that made an impression on even the most jaded industry veterans — the show drew the likes of Anne Hathaway, Willow Smith, Kate Moss, Shaun White, Renzo Rosso, Carlo Capasa, Hwang Minhyun, Nina Dobrev, Olivia Palermo and Johannes Huebl, among others.
The event was also in sync with his constant goal to cement the brand’s community and to offer special experiences.
“Moncler Grenoble is the result of extensive research, experimentation and development of fabrics and techniques, which leads to expertise and authority in a brand that is a pillar of our group, but now is the time to shine a light on it after focusing over the past few years on building the main Moncler Collection and Genius,” said Ruffini ahead of the show.
Moncler Grenoble has been working for years with ski instructors at the best international ski schools in towns such as Gstaad, Kitzbuhel, Niseido, Verbier or Zermatt, to name a few. Brand ambassadors include marquee athletes who range from Shaun White and Xuetong Cai to Perrine Laffont and Richard Permin, who front a dedicated ad campaign launched at the end of last year. Called “Beyond Performance,” the campaign was photographed in Switzerland by Jamie Hawkesworth, who captured high-adrenaline ski runs and intimate, off-duty gatherings among the athletes.
Touting Grenoble’s technology, Ruffini said “it trickles down to the other group brands, improving lightness and performance of the materials and comfort.”
Moncler Grenoble owes its name to the city that hosted the Olympic Games in 1968 when the brand was the French national ski team’s official supplier.
“I am convinced we must be more precise, balancing fashion and luxury with our roots. I believe in creativity and that you can be stylish on the slopes, too,” said Ruffini.
Fashion and luxury brands have increasingly been turning their attention to skiwear as a burgeoning category to deliver a rounded lifestyle offer. Examples range from Louis Vuitton and Chanel to Balenciaga, which have all launched skiwear collections. Fendi, Brunello Cucinelli, Bottega Veneta, Paul & Shark, Pollini and Golden Goose, among others, have hosted activations in tony destinations such as Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy; Gstaad, Switzerland; Aspen, and Courchevel, France.
“Yes, this segment is becoming more crowded, but I am not worried,” contended Ruffini, confident in the brand’s expertise and its industrial capabilities. “We have set up a dedicated manufacturing plant [in Romania], and we combine style with high quality.”
He highlighted that outdoor experiences after the pandemic have become increasingly more important, particularly in the U.S. and Asia, with the consequent boom in the outerwear category. Ruffini noted that the brand has been extending its offer to the summer with lighter-weight products.
Sales in 2023 of Moncler Group, which also includes Stone Island and is publicly listed in Milan, will be released on Feb. 28. According to the latest figures available, the group weathered the challenging macroeconomic, social and political challenges.
In the nine months ended Sept. 30, the group reported revenues of 1.8 billion euros, a 16 percent increase compared with 1.55 billion euros in the same period last year. Sales of the Moncler brand in nine months rose 19 percent to 1.49 billion euros.
Ruffini recalled that he said upon the group’s initial public offering in 2013 he was aiming “to survive fashion.” Now, he underscored that this is “not banal,” as consistency and staying true to the brand’s roots is his mantra.
“Grenoble has allowed us over the years to keep a foot in the sports world, in the mountains, skiing, active sports, hiking and biking, a world that is becoming increasingly relevant, especially in the U.S., and we need to raise awareness around our product, around Grenoble, which comprises high performance, après ski, and performance and style, where we express our maximum creativity on the slopes, and I think this is still not very clear to the end consumer. We have always been committed to Grenoble, but we didn’t really communicate this commitment.”
A key step in this direction was also the opening last December of the Moncler Grenoble boutique in Saint Moritz, the town where the bobsled was born and which for years has been known as a luxury winter destination for the jet-set. As reported, it has been undergoing a renaissance, with a renewed buzz.
Designed by the architectural firm Küchel Architects, the impressive 3,230-square-foot space with seven windows on the town’s central Via Maistra pays tribute to the landscape of the surrounding Swiss Alps, with natural materials including wood, stone and marble juxtaposed with metal and futuristic design elements. A few steps away on the same street is the Moncler flagship.
Further highlighting the brand, the company has been investing in Moncler Grenoble pop-up stores.
As of Sept. 30, the network of Moncler directly operated boutiques comprised 262 units.
The first Grenoble collection was presented in New York in January 2010 during the city’s fashion week. The last runway event held by the brand was in February 2017, a winter ball staged at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom during New York Fashion Week.
However, Ruffini said the event in Saint Moritz was the “first true show for the brand,” and that he saw more “itinerant experiences” for Grenoble going forward.
The fall 2024 collection was paraded in the Clavadatsch lodge and its forest with a view of the tony Swiss resort town. The idea of showing in the ski resort felt personal, as Ruffini explained before the show that Saint Moritz is a second home for both himself and Moncler, where the company opened its first store more than two decades ago.
Guests arrived at sunset and walked a few steps into the forest, where a snaking catwalk was carved out in the snow.
The step and repeat was surely unique — a group of life-size ice statues wearing puffers standing next to a giant Moncler logo, also in ice.
“It’s magical,” Hathaway said of the experience. “I wasn’t raised being able to spend time in the mountains, to ski, to enjoy things like these, so I’m actually very moved,” said the actress, who traveled to Saint Moritz for the first time and was on the slopes skiing a day earlier, admitting she did so cautiously and with an instructor. “I’m not very good yet but I’m having a lot of fun,” she said, beaming.
Moss was also in great spirits and curious about what to expect at the show. “Everything has been kept as a closely guarded secret; I don’t have any idea but the forest looks amazing, it’s so magical,” she said, concurring with Hathaway.
“Fashion meeting function, having products that look great but perform even better, having the board and riding with everyone today on the mountains was perfect, amazing,” said brand ambassador White. Moncler Grenoble has created its first snowboard design in collaboration with Whitespace, the brand founded by the three-time Olympic gold medalist and inspired by surfboards.
Nothing was left to chance — every guest wore a white Moncler cape and wireless headphones to listen to a soundtrack that ranged from opera airs such as “Casta Diva” to waltz excerpts as they walked into a fairy-tale landscape, streams of light dancing through the trees and piercing the darkness above the sloping ground. Concerns about the cold were quelled as the seats on wooden benches were heated and white wool blankets contributed to the cozy arrangements — Thermoses filled with warm wine or hot tea added to the comfort.
The production was there, sure, but it didn’t take away from the comprehensive coed collection worn by 135 models, who ranged from Mariacarla Boscono and Vittoria Ceretti to Irina Shayk and Joan Smalls.
Through the application of wool flannel and corduroy, the brand’s skiwear line was completed by outfits that are technical and can also be suitable for skiing.
Shirts turned into ski jackets, and flannel pants were laminated to be fit for the slopes. Stitch embroideries and maxi crochets landed on technical pieces and textures inspired by Fair Isle mixed fabrics and colors, which grew in complexity, reaching 1,600 components in a single jacket. Texture was also added thanks to embroideries and with a 3D effect.
The color palette for fall 2024 ranged from pale tones of snow and ice, to mixes of red, white and blue, as well as warm mustard and tree greens.
Intricate geometric intarsia reminiscent of traditional quilts were shown on both technical and sheepskin jackets. Quilting created the effect of Aran knit stitches on ski jackets. Apparel and duvets were fully fashioned in knits. Mixed media capes reflected the brand’s expertise with materials.
Oversize, cocooning coats were made with shaggy strands of virgin wool and alpaca, which looked like furs but were not as the company has been fur-free since the fall 2023 season.
The brand showed puffers with multicolored boudins created with the help of artificial intelligence, and quilts inspired by ’70s knits. Feminine looks were seen in cropped down jackets that hugged the torso and were worn over puffer miniskirts.
Some of the looks were also fit for off the slopes, such as the roomy wool pants with twisted rib stitches ideal for snuggling in front of a fireplace with a hot chocolate. There was an abundance of accessories, from beanies to backpacks and bags, not to mention a plethora of boots and eyewear.
It resulted in a beautiful and comprehensive collection that mixed style, sophistication and technology, blending function and comfort.
Saint Moritz holds a special place in the heart of Ruffini, who has a house in the town and is passionate about skiing. Last year, through Ruffini’s family investment vehicle Archive, which has a stake in Langosteria, Moncler partnered with Enrico Buonocore, founder of the Italian premium seafood restaurant, and opened its first high-altitude location in Saint Moritz.
The idea of showing in the ski resort felt personal, as Ruffini explained before the show that Saint Moritz is a second home for both himself and Moncler, where the company opened its first store more than two decades ago.
