Wynn Las Vegas Magazine by MODERN LUXURY

Wynn Las Vegas - 2016 - Issue 3 - Winter

Wynn Magazine - Las Vegas

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52 In the ensuing years, the company grew in size and acclaim, outfitting such newsmakers as the 1955 French team that first summited Mount Makalu in the Himalayas, Terray's 1964 expedition to Alaska, and the French downhill skiing team at the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble. Further innovation followed as France's downhill skiing team became de facto advisors to the brand, with Moncler replacing its jackets' outer double layer with a lighter single version to help the team achieve faster times down the mountain. And in a stylish (but useful) twist, the company added leather epaulets to the shoulders, so skiers could rest their skis on their bodies without damaging the fabric. Moncler continued working with athletes, scientists, and outdoors aficionados to perfect its parkas. Then, in the 1980s, the brand recruited Paris designer Chantal Thomass to give the jackets a chic makeover. She introduced hints of urbanity, replacing zippers with buttons and adding fur trim and satin. It was at this time that the jackets first appeared in bright reversible colors. Popular with snow bunnies worldwide, this versatile, high-performance version of a winter coat was the forerunner of the Moncler parka that the stylish love to f launt today. In 1999, the company presented its first spring and summer collections, and four years later Moncler was purchased by Italian entrepreneur Remo Ruffini, who moved its headquarters to Milan. Still the company's chairman and CEO, Ruffini gets credit for the concept of a global down jacket and for dreaming up the puffy parkas—and their high-fashion offshoots—that are now worn year- round. While remaining true to Moncler's functional origins, Ruffini initiated collaborations with a number of designers—including Alessandra Facchinetti, Giambattista Valli, and Thom Browne—to create a truly haute couture product. In 2009, the brand joined forces with singer Pharrell Williams to design a limited-edition collection of men's jackets with a refined ecological motif. The next year, Moncler debuted its men's and women's Grenoble collection in New York, reconsidering the past by giving its ski garments and après-ski wear an even more contemporary spirit. Guests can find these pieces in Wynn Las Vegas and in the boutique that opened in Wynn Palace in 2016. In 2012, Moncler celebrated its 60th anniversary at Art Basel in Miami Beach, and in 2013, Williams returned to guest-design the brand's first eyewear. The following year, in both a return to its roots in creating clothing for earth's harshest environments and a look at the planet's future, the company presented an exhibition of stark photographs of Greenland at Sotheby's during the art fair Frieze London. Indeed, Moncler is now dedicated to eco-conscious production, with its new Sustainability Unit ensuring that its products are made responsibly, from concept to delivery. Call it the ultimate "spiritual union" of form and function. PHOTOGRAPHY BY BARBARA KRAFT (STORE); MARK LEARY/GET T Y IMAGES (BACKGROUND) "On this proud and beautiful mountain, we have lived hours of fraternal, warm, and exalting nobility." —lionel terray A wintertime display in the Moncler boutique at Wynn.

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