Moncler + Rick Owens

The act of collaboration gains a new profundity when Rick Owens is involved. One of fashion’s eminent philosophers, his cerebral approach to design and living leads him on intimate paths of discovery. His collaboration with Moncler became one such journey. One that led the designer, his ‘Hun’ Michèle Lamy and Moncler on a wild and introspective road trip back to his home town of L.A. “The assignment I gave myself was simple and authentic,” says Owens, “what would I personally wear on a road trip in an aesthetically focused self-contained moving spaceship? I was trying to strike a balance between strictly functional and flamboyantly deranged.” In order to create this exceptionally nuanced wardrobe, he stripped everything back to basics. That meant returning Moncler to its DNA of the duvet, and using that as his primary tool for the collection. It also meant returning to his own DNA of luxury leisurewear and extreme comfort. 

The result is a line-up of recognizable Rick Owens tropes: the sleeveless tunic, the elongated sleeve – but expressed in Moncler’s featherweight volumes of down. Exploding shapes and tumorous proportions in scarves and cropped bolero jackets contrast elegantly with sleek bonded nylon layers and radiance quilted jackets in a palette of matt black, silver and dust. And what of the ‘spaceship’ that Owens and Lamy used to traverse America’s rugged desert landscapes? In a prescient move, Rick Owens chose to create a mode of travel in which he and his creative partner and wife, Michèle Lamy, could cocoon in. He customized an ordinary tour bus by insulating it with silver Moncler down filled nylon, and filling it with duvets, creating a soft and cozy retreat. Says the designer, “Insulation, protection and momentum are my impression of what Moncler stands for and applying my aesthetic to an insulated traveling bubble was my answer to the collaborative challenge.”