Known for its down jackets and stylish sportswear, luxury European label Moncler has teamed up with Los Angeles-based fashion designer Greg Lauren to create a limited-edition collection of deconstructed and military-inspired outerwear, with an autumn release at the brand’s boutiques as well as at selected department stores and at moncler.com. Believe us when we say that every stylish globetrotter needs at least one, or two, of the pieces in his or her wardrobe.
Lauren is the talented and handsome nephew of American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Apart from his strong presence in the fashion industry, this charming 47-year-old has also forayed into the art world and, before that, earned himself various big-screen acting credentials in Hollywood. The much-talked-about Lauren-Moncler collaboration, entitled Collide, was presented to a select group of guests – including celebrities, members of the press and Lauren’s ultra-hip posse of friends – at an artsy indoor space that even housed a custom-built Moncler camping tent, during Paris fashion week last March. The fashionable puffer jackets, which are available in a classic Moncler two-tone red and light blue, black and military green, also come in other styles and fabrics in unisex, men’s and women’s categories.
Tell us about the collaboration with Moncler.
Moncler reached out to me and invited me to do this collaboration. I was incredibly excited because Moncler does so many interesting collaborations and I think that they’re very smart for being such an iconic brand and working with new, emerging designers. It was very interesting for me because it was also very different from what I do. I was very excited to take this iconic and classic aesthetic and mix it with my destroyed elegance.
There are lots of cool deconstructed pieces and military influences. What was the idea behind this?
That’s sort of a signature component of my own collection. I thought it was very important, to do this collaboration right, it had to be two strong ideas meeting head-to-head, which is why we called it Collide. To take this beautiful, colourful and iconic Moncler piece and mix it with a destroyed military piece was sort of an unusual but beautiful mixture.
Who are your style icons?
Well, in my own life I did grow up with one of the great ones, my uncle Ralph Lauren. He’s probably number one. My father, who’s head of men’s design, is right there next to him. That’s where I learned everything. It’s interesting because I learned about Cary Grant, Steve McQueen, all the greats, but in my life I’ve always said that I’ve learned to dress like Cary Grant but I feel more like Oliver Twist. I feel more like something out of a Dickens novel. In many ways, while I love all the great style icons and I learned about them, I somehow find myself gravitating towards sometimes even Charlie Chaplin.
Were you always interested in fashion as a kid?
For me, it wasn’t even a question. It was surrounding me in my life. It was an amazing and unusual education, to be around not only fashion but also this idea of style and images, really learning about these people who embodied a certain style. It was something that excited me and something that I loved and my whole family loved. We shared that joy of it. At a certain point, it was important for me to figure out who I wanted to be. That was the only thing that changed for me. I felt the need to do my own thing so that I could find my own voice because I grew up around this very specific voice in fashion. First as an artist, that helped me find my way back to clothing.
How do you balance your work and family life in LA?
It’s hard and it’s all-consuming, but the key to my relationship with my wife Elizabeth [Berkley], who’s an actress and an amazing mom, is that we support each other fully in a creative light. That’s also what we want to show our son, Sky.
What’s the best piece of style advice you’ve ever received?
I think it’s important that somebody figures out who they are, and it’s more important I think nowadays to dress for who you are and not for who you think you should be. Find your authentic self and try to figure out what that means in clothing.
What other projects are you working on at the moment? What can we expect from you this year?
This was a very exciting collaboration. What happens is that I’m always working on my own collection. So I’m very excited about my fall 2017 collection. I really pushed the envelope with that. It’s an exploration of classic Americana, but remixed my way. I’ve also done some really cool costumes for film. I have pieces in The Avengers and I’m doing some costumes for the new Aquaman movie. I do a lot of work in film now, it’s exciting.
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