Sunglasses? No, Gentle Monster x Moncler Is a Commentary on Social Media
One day, every cool brand on the planet will somehow get involved in Moncler Genius. The latest taste-making imprint to partner with Moncler's collaborative arm is Korean eyewear label Gentle Monster, which devised a selection of sunglasses that comments on digital culture.
Yup, these are no mere sunglasses: they're practically modern art.
It's not a big leap for Gentle Monster, which has a history of exhibit-worthy campaign imagery, nor for Moncler, which effortlessly shapeshifts the humble puffer jacket into next-level outerwear.
The only real shock here is that the Gentle Monster x Moncler Genius collection isn't called "Gentle Moncler" (I know, I know, branding and all, but still).
Then again, it is actually pretty surprising that it took these two enterprising outlets this long to finally partner up. Better late than never.
This collaborative capsule delivers a plethora of sunglasses — Gentle Monster's specialty, though Moncler often dips into eyewear — but it will be accompanied by a round of muted black layering pieces created with transitional weather in mind.
With recycled polyester and nylon fibers, the Gentle Moncler (I like it) apparel will include sleeveless down jackets, shell jackets, sweaters, T-shirts, standalone hoods, bags, and boots, forming a cohesive closet.
It'll all be available first at Gentle Monster's HAUS concept store in its native Seoul for the month of May, before launching at a wider selection of Moncler Genius outlets.
But, anyways, these commentating sunglasses: dubbed the "Swipe," Gentle Monster x Moncler Genius' eyewear is a riff on the nature of navigating the world on your phone, where you swipe through feeds, images, videos, disappearing stories.
Its a motif that will inform the accompanying garments but is also subtly integrated into the glasses via cleverly tweaked Moncler logos that're elongated as if someone smeared them down with a swiping motion.
This manifests in singular silver accents on otherwise monochrome square shades or as piecemeal arms on some sleek styles, shaped by undulating lines of swiped metal.
Neither Gentle Monster nor Moncler Genius are decrying social media, to be clear — they're both actually extremely adept at using the medium to express their own ethos.
Consider the swipe inspiration more of a commentary on the pervasive nature of the swiping movement, a reflection of how omnipresent that simple finger motion remains in our day-to-day life. As ever-present as a pair of sunglasses.
