💭 Sergio Zambon & Veronica Leoni for ODDA Magazine
This article first appeared in the ODDA Magazine 19th Issue “You, Me, and Everyone We Know”.
SERGIO ZAMBON & VERONICA LEONI
The date marks the birth year of the brand and the brief for Sergio Zambon and Veronica Leoni, who work on men’s wear and women’s wear respectively, has been to find original ways to pay homage to that heritage.
The designers have been in charge of the 1952 line since the inception of the Moncler Genius project and ODDA spoke with both of them about how they were able to create a mind-meld with Moncler that was both a respectful nod to the house and also celebrated their own unique design skills.
JESSICA MICHAULT. What was the best part of working with Moncler on this collection?
SERGIO ZAMBON. The best part was sharing with Remo Ruffini the idea of collaborating with a city for the collection and his prompt feedback in terms of excitement. It is such a great thing to have a good idea, sharing the ownership, then receiving positive feedback. Also, collaborating with different LA-based creatives, which was very challenging, but it was very exciting.
J.M. The tagline for Moncler is “born in the mountains, lives in the city.” Basically your interpretation of the idea was Los Angeles. How did you rethink that concept?
S.Z. I think L.A. represents the city near nature. You can go hiking in canyons around the city and you have the beach as well. L.A. has this side of mixing city and nature very easily, both geographically and culturally. On the other hand, you have Moncler, which really likes to live in big cities, so L.A. was the perfect place as it encapsulates both city, and nature.
J.M. You could have done anything with this collaboration. What made you want to tap into a city rather than a particular muse or epoch?
S.Z. The first thing that I thought of was, instead of collaborating with another brand or designer, why not a city? And I chose L.A. because I have never seen such a cultural transformation in a city; a lot of things are shifting there. I thought, “why don’t we collaborate with the city to make something creative that reflects its spirit?” To me, L.A. feels very alive and I felt very inspired by that. I met with a lot of creative people over the years when I traveled to L.A., and so it was really easy to have everything come together organically.
J.M. You went in a lot of different directions with this collection and the L.A. based people and brands you collaborated with. How difficult was it to blend all of those into a singular concept?
S.Z. When I am working in creative collaboration, the goal is to meet in the middle; to have a mutual goal and make it possible to create a common product within the seasonal collection of Moncler 1952. We are meeting in the middle of our individual creativity, while still respecting the iconic style of Moncler. It is a nice challenge.
J.M. What was your biggest surprise throughout the whole collaboration process?
S.Z. I was very surprised when I met Aaron Thompson, the designer of AD.iii. While I was at Maxfield in L.A., I spotted one of his necklaces there and I really liked it. I was talking with the salesperson about it and they said “well if you want, the designer is here if you would like to meet him.” So five minutes after I say I like this necklace, there I am talking with Aaron in the store! We had a conversation and we hit it off immediately; it was all very organic. I would say that was the biggest surprise.
J.M. You worked at Fendi for 12 years. What fundamentals did you take from that experience that you applied to this collection or your work in general?
S.Z. My technical foundation all came from my time working at Fendi. What I am doing at Moncler is a holistic approach to building a collection without any limits. It was this idea of collective mixing that I learned in Fendi, so there is no limit. I always respect the heritage of the company, but at Fendi, I inherited this eclectic and fun side of creativity for doing a collection. You start with the “sky’s the limit” and then you start pairing back from there until you have your final result.
J.M. What is your design process like?
S.Z. I attain a final vision by collecting images. For example, when I want to do Moncler with L.A., I want to represent the iconic period of L.A. with the youth movement. I start with the final vision I want to achieve and I envision the entire collection. Then, I go back into the details and go through the technical process. I start with the idea of a style, and what I mean by this is looking at the silhouette, maybe a period, and the colors. Colors are very important to me, they are something that I am working on right from the start, especially for Moncler.
J.M. Do you have a favorite piece from the collection?
S.Z. I like the Ikat green and white printed jacket and the white and cream-colored
corduroy down jacket.
J.M. How do you find that blend between the 70s aesthetic and the modern 2020 aesthetic that you wanted to achieve with this collection?
S.Z. Like I mentioned before, I like to start from a final vision and work my way back. I really like the hippie L.A. aesthetic from the 70s and to that, I added a touch of the 90s and a little bit of punk. I mixed the different tastes together which are related to the city; I mixed it with colors and different silhouettes. You can see the styles of the period but it is never overpowering because I translate it for Moncler in a contemporary way. It is important that you can see inspiration in the styles but it is never literal. But what makes it “now” is the way it is all mixed.
J.M. How has your background influenced the way you designed this collection?
S.Z. It is kind of a coincidence because my personal background is very mixed. My mom is Croatian, but she was born in Egypt and speaks French. My father is Italian but he was born in France. So already I had a quite eclectic start in life. I also traveled a lot and lived in lots of different countries. Also, in terms of my professional life, I worked at very different fashion companies. I learned all about luxury clothing at Fendi and MaxMara, then I learned about the contemporary market when I worked at Acne. The crossover between all of these things in my life, you can see, are layered into the designs that I am doing. It is never one thing. It is actually difficult to manage when I am starting a project. But I know from experience that eventually all of the pieces will come together.
JESSICA MICHAULT. How has your background influenced the way you designed this collection?
VERONICA LEONI. Since the very beginning of my collaboration with Moncler, I‘ve always walked the fine line of contamination between my creativity and the brand’s DNA. I used to do it in a very “raw” and spontaneous way without hiding the formula too well. Authenticity lays there; in the transparency of the process and the way the result can be surprising but recognizable in both directions.
J.M. What aspects of London did you fall in love with and how did that translate into this collection?
V.L. London to me is a special place in the world. It is a melting pot of so many different souls and cultures. It represents a “reliable” source of inspiration and a possibility to be whoever you want to be. London is able to provide the right answer season by season. Now that I’m not living there anymore, I try to go and spend a sort of Holy Week at the beginning of each season to kick-off and renew my inspiration and creativity! Its eclecticism and spirited attitude are definitely what I tried to keep alive while working on this collection.
J.M. You’ve successfully managed to bring together two very different aesthetics to create something entirely new. What sparked the idea to create this fusion?
V.L. Acting with fusion was actually the most spontaneous thing I did when I started working with Moncler. I thought the best way to inject newness and distinctiveness in the Moncler 1952 line was to keep it personal. And I just did what came out instinctively.
J.M. In this collection, you took on the iconic Moncler puffer. How hard was it to give a new slant to such a staple item, and one that is fundamentally linked to the house?
V.L. In a way, the Moncler puffer is a sort of iconic raw material that we designers are then given to rework and reimagine. After you build confidence with it, the rest is freedom and open to endless possibilities. This is what the Genius project is about after all!
J.M. I understand that your creativity is sparked when you push sartorial boundaries. Where did you ride the razor’s edge with this collection?
V.L. Ah, ah very true! I love to push sartorial boundaries! First of all, a sartorial wardrobe is a fundamental starting point in terms of archetypes and references for my inspiration. No matter what kind of fabric I’m going to use, I need it to define a certain attitude and a specific type of femininity. Look 3, 7, and 20 are definitely the outfits I pushed the farthest in this sense. They are a belted extra tailored black coat with stretchy down lining inside, a felted pied de poule wool car coat with a lacquer puffy gilet as the extra internal layer, and a puffy trench coat in shiny polyester satin.
J.M. Do you get to keep any of the pieces yourself? If so, is there a favorite you have from the collection?
V.L. I’m an obsessive collector of prototypes! And yes I’ve got some of the pieces from the latest collection, knitwear included. I’m still waiting to get the full outfit of look 11! The fake fur patchwork quilted coat is definitely my winter statement! Textures and layering are key elements of the way I designed 1952, and knitwear played a fundamental role; the extra lightweight yarns made it possible to create extremely chunky knits. I feel like it gives a very different energy to classical nylon looks, bringing it immediately into another universe. Also, I do love to wear a lot of knit, and I think it is a must-have in a modern feminine wardrobe.
J.M. How has the pandemic impacted your career as a designer, or is it too early to say?
V.L. The pandemic brought up a lot of thoughts on the personal side. Our industry will definitely be affected on many levels but I hope that it will be the designs of high quality and quality projects that will see the light at the end of the tunnel. On my side, I’m trying to stay as creative as I can; thinking outside of the box, and also being flexible and extremely open-minded. It’s an opportunity to improve, to make changes, and restart with awareness and responsibility.
J.M. Tell me a bit about how you collaborated with the initiative GIRL UP for this collection.
V.L. I have known about the GIRL UP initiative and the amazing work they have been doing for almost a decade now. I wanted the Genius project and Moncler to be part of it and Mr. Ruffini welcomed my proposal with open arms. He was very excited about it!
I loved the idea of making the Genius project not just a creative hub for different voices, but an active platform that is challenging the status quo and promoting differences and gender equality. I really hope, as a woman, what we are feeling now is the winds of change. That all of us, supporting and encouraging the next generations, will be able to achieve results which should be obvious at this point, but so far have yet to be part of our everyday life.
Guaranteeing access to education is not just key to empower future generations of girls,
it’s actually the first instrument to fight prejudice, violence, and hate; to build up a
better society where there won’t be any room for that sort of behavior. This cannot be
utopia anymore. We’ve all got the opportunity to be a part of the change!
J.M. What was the best part of working with Moncler on this collection?
V.L. I loved it all! Each step of the way!
Photographer and Stylist GEORGIA TAL
Hair CHRISTOS BAIRABAS
Make-up SOPHIA KOSSADA
Models LORENZO SARJAN, MARKO, ANNE ZARSKE and LULA
Special Thanks to D MODELS AGENCY
