Moncler x Sacai Is The Collaboration Of The Season

There are fashion collaborations and then there's Moncler x Sacai. The luxury outdoor brand and hybrid style star have joined forces on a tight edit of pieces speaking to our desire for functionality and longevity. Think: layered, multipurpose looks comprising hoods, belts, zips and gilets that offer myriad styling possibilities. Read: cool rather than normcore. It’s quiet luxury with a distinct purpose.

The four concise unisex looks – one in black and the others in off-white and ecru – came about after Moncler chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini enlisted Sacai founder Chitose Abe, who he previously collaborated with in 2010, to help him celebrate the Italian brand’s 70th birthday. But rather than reflect on the past, Abe looked forward, imagining what Moncler might look like in some seven decades’ time. Her answer? A sense of adventure will still be at the heart of the house, but there’s boundary-pushing techniques underscoring every move.

If the first Moncler x Sacai collection honed in on the down jacket – something that Abe had not yet introduced at Sacai and thus a valuable lesson to learn from the master in the field – round two centres on modular looks that fit together like an exquisite puzzle. Jackets, for example, can morph into boilersuits when attached to trousers, capes are suddenly conceived when the sleeves of a puffer are unzipped and a down jacket transforms into a backpack thanks to some nifty internal straps. The small but mighty offering projects a sense that its wearers will be ready for anything, while looking totally unflustered in the process.

While Ruffini has brought a community spirit to a house famed for its snowsuits that transcend the mountain ranges and reach urbanites, Abe’s work stands out among the other names jostling for attention on Moncler’s collaborative line-up (Rick Owens, Pierpaolo Piccioli and Giambattista Valli were also invited to put their stamp on the brand’s Maya 70 jacket for Moncler’s birthday). Abe’s unique pattern-cutting techniques and innovative use of materials are infused with the Japanese phrase kachikan – roughly equating to the importance of one’s personal values – which is not a common occurrence in a fashion industry known for peddling newness. It’s rare for a collaboration to benefit both parties equally, but you get the feeling there is much the two leaders in their respective fields are learning from the union.

Which pieces did team our snap up? Moncler x Sacai has made the decision simple by offering the pieces as full looks only at retail. It’s got to be the polymorphous muted parachute dress, which projects a can-do attitude, for us. Its wearer, for example, looks like she might scale a mountain and then nip into somewhere fabulous for high tea – or, indeed, something stronger if the descent was gusty. The Moncler x Sacai woman has stories to tell and don’t we all want to be her? Moncler x Sacai is available in select Moncler boutiques from 27 November. Discover more Moncler collections at Moncler.com