“Creativity is contagious, pass it on”, wrote Albert Einstein. Creativity is what allows us to jump from one space to another, to get out of the monotony of everyday life and launch ourselves to a new place, where colors intertwine with each other and the mind begins to imagine. Creativity is intelligence having fun, without fear. It is the courage to show oneself free, constantly seeking happiness, pursuing one’s own drives, inclinations. Creativity is the child who lives inside us, that childish child of whom Pascoli also tenderly wrote about and for whom life never ceases to be a continuous discovery.
In that very imperative “transmit it,” Remo Ruffini, Chairman and CEO of the Moncler Group, finds inspiration. Creativity needs to be told, exposed and listened to. Every story is inspiring, instilling confidence and courage. So that’s why on Oct. 19, at the close of Shanghai Fashion Week, Moncler presented The City of Genius: a metropolis of immersive experiences, where you can be pulled by your instincts and share the beauty of creativity.
Moncler, The City Of Genius
Moncler Genius is a project launched in 2018 by the fashion brand of the same name. The initiative aims to reinterpret and renew the brand’s DNA through collaborations with different world-renowned designers and creatives. The main idea is to combine Moncler’s heritage with the aesthetics and artistic vision of different talents, creating unique, special collections. Each year, Moncler Genius involves a group of designers, each with their own “chapter” within the collection. No classic fashion show: special events that create a strong visual impact, highly suggestive.
Each of us is gifted with creative talent. As children, nothing seems to be scary. Though still small, fragile and helpless, we feel strong, with the world in our hands. There is no fear of making mistakes, of falling into error and daring. There is no pattern to fit into, no rule to follow. The palette of colors is infinite and we choose the ones we like best, for real. We don’t ask questions, we don’t think long and hard. We create endless shades, different hues. Some may not go well together, but one thing is certain, they will never fight. Then the years go by, school desks become an increasingly distant memory, and the colors lighten until they disappear. Worries grow, insecurities, like the fear of making mistakes, of being judged. And that child with eyes in love with life slowly moves away from us, leaving us alone, in the monotony of gray everyday life. Moncler’s inspiration, The City of Genius, starts right here.
In fact, according to a study in the 1960s, 98 percent of five-year-olds have the characteristics of genius. As they become adults, the percentage drops to 2 percent. So how to keep that inner genius alive? How not to be carried away by life’s difficulties?
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- Hiroshi Fujiwara per la campagna Moncler Born Genius
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- Moncler, The City Of Genius
The message of the teaser campaign, titled Born Genius, centers the project’s artists depicted at the age of five. The short film directed by photographer and director Wing Shya features global brand ambassador Leah Dou, in an imaginary Shanghai-inspired town, transitioning from child to adulthood while maintaining and protecting her creativity, her genius.
A total of ten co-creators starred in Moncler, The City of Genius, the event held in Shanghai on Oct. 19 that was live streamed on WeChat, Douyin, RED and Weibo, registering more than 57 million viewers. Streetwear was presented by one of its top exponents, FRGMT by Hiroshi Fujiwara. There was no shortage of Gilga Farm by Donald Glover and Chinese artist LuLu Li, for whom what is unknown is art. Also present were Palm Angeles, A$ap Rocky and Willow Smith, showing their authentic, free imagination. There were more than 8,000 guests who explored the different “neighborhoods” created by the protagonists. They included Naomi Campbell, Anne Hathaway, Mika, Francesco Ragazzi, Rihanna, and many others.
A$AP Rocky per la campagna Moncler Born Genius
There were the ideas of Rick Owens and Jil Sander, concretized into collections. Essentiality mixed with innovation, and the result was something extraordinary. Elegance and quality appeared in new materials, the result of the lively creativity of the respective designers.
The CSSC Pavilion, a historic shipyard overlooking the Huangpu River, was transformed into a metropolis of unprecedented creativity in a space of 30,000 square meters. In this evocative, at times magical and supernatural setting, guests had the opportunity to travel, discovering the collections of the different designers and marveling again and again.