Moncler’s London Fashion Week spectacle: a robot peep show, a sudsy dopamine room, and a win for the democratization of fashion.
On Monday, the biggest showcases on the fashion week calendar—in terms of media attention, scale, and attendees— rendered London’s Kensington Olympia unrecognizable.
The transformation came courtesy of Italian fashion house Moncler, who converted the barren arena into an Instagram story chimera— think Disneyworld, but in lieu of princesses in gowns and rides came stoic, expressionless models in puffer jackets and high-fashion camping gear. The various sets ranged from a “peep show” of models interacting with adorable robot toddlers to a moss-covered wonderland where trees’ underground communication was captured, reverberating through the tent. The evening felt like an immersive, utopian episode of Black Mirror.
To Moncler’s credit, the event was markedly accessible compared to fashion week’s signature industry-only offerings. Although the likes of Hailey Bieber and Marcus Rashford were sequestered in the VVIP area, over 10,000 guests attended the event for free— a notable win in the democratization of the fashion industry.
The evening was designed to usher in Moncler’s new era, their departure from exclusively pursuing fashion collaborations and segue into unrelated industries, like the automotive and music spheres.
As such, Alicia Keys headlined the night with a goosebump-inducing hour-long set, bringing on both Little Sims and Cleo Sol as surprise guests, much to the audience’s rapture. Both the musicians and Key’s electric, rubber-boned backup dancers wore the soon-to-be-released Moncler x Alicia Keys collection, which Keys defines as “cool, easy, 100% New York – inspired by late ’90s streetwear, but with a twist,” in the event’s press release.
Pharrell Williams was the mind behind the moss-covered, earthy, grass-scented installation and camp wear— a reminder that his appointment as the new creative director of Louis Vuitton Men’s is deserved— while Jay Z’s Roc Nation conceptualized sound pods where guests could record themselves to be engineered by JAY-Z’s producer, Mike Dean. A Palm Angels foam party immersed attendees in sudsy ecstasy, while a futuristic Mercedes Benz exhibit made everyone bitter about the unsophisticated Toyotas they called to Uber them, reluctantly, home.
Images courtesy of Moncler.
