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Genius is a creative platform developed by luxury outerwear brand Moncler, intended to give designers the ability to experiment and elevate Moncler staples in their own style. The Genius platform produces 8 staple collections annually, with each following one of the 8 respective pillars prescribed by Moncler. With season 3 soon to be released to the public, I decided to review the collections, ranking them best to worst. Each collection must at least partially use Moncler down material and elevate some form of a Moncler staple. So, I will take into account both the designers’ use of the designated material as well as how sufficiently they represented the pillar Moncler placed upon the collection. At the end of the day, though, it all comes down to how experimental, chic, and fashionable the clothes really were.

8th Place, The Worst of The Bunch

The worst of the collections, in my opinion, is designed by Sandro Mandrino, which falls under the third pillar: Playful Flair. Sandro Mandrino usually designs the Moncler Grenoble line, which this year has been adapted underneath the Genius umbrella. Usually meant to showcase utilitarian silhouettes and materials in a commercial manner, the Grenoble line took its first bite into flashy prints and silhouettes in an atrocious style. Performance and flair almost never pair well, and this collection is the perfect example of that dissonance. The prints were butt-ugly, an unhappy creation from their collaboration with LA street artist James Goldcrown. My disdain for the prints did not surprise me. I am not a fan of LA street art; I think it is tasteless. The simple iconography and flashy colors artists drown their canvases in create putrid messes, and believe it or not, the same effect occurs when you douse a whole collection in the tacky clutter. The only time you wish you were wearing any of these jackets would be when you’re lost on a mountain waiting for rescue, and the helicopter is able to spot you miles away in your fluorescent heart-covered down jacket. The last half of the collection featured the monochromatic, sleek silhouettes we usually see from Grenoble. They were tasteful and elegant, but sadly not enough to save the trainwreck of the first half.

7th Place, Lucky Ducky

Fitting that number 7 within this Genius release is the 7th best. This collection tackled the Subculture Subtleness pillar with a collaborative collection by Fragments. Fragments is a Japanese streetwear brand run by Hiroshi Fujiwara. I’ve never been a fan of his work; the double lightning bolt design just doesn’t do it for me, and neither did this collection. The clothes seemed super uninspired besides the stereotypical Japanese streetwear roots. I’m tired of Japanese designers reinterpreting American classics and military wear. Ba-humbug. The idea is played out and I am desperately curious to see them elevate the idea. I unfortunately did not find anything provocative here. Fujiwara pimped out hoodies and Nupsey style jackets in the same old boring manner. The Converse collaboration that was paired with the collection was underwhelming as well. Simple one star silhouettes in black and white did little to excite. Overall the muted colors covered by large prints within the collection inspired nothing but frowns. This old clown needs to hang up his hat while he still has some clout left. Goodnight and good day Mr. Fujiwara. Keep this up and I’ll start reffering to you as big fat baby Fujiwara.

6th Place, This One’s Not That Bad

Now we are getting into some of the decent collections, starting with the second Moncler Genius project, a womens’ and menswear line designed by Veronica Leoni and Sergio Zambon respectively. Each with years of experience, they felt comfortable tackling the Pop Trademark pillar, creating the Moncler 1952 collection. They took Moncler classics and reimagined them with a modern twist. With gorgeous 70’s inspired silhouettes and interesting material choice, I have no complaints. It is what it is, and nothing more. The concept Leoni and Zambon chose did not specifically resonate with me, but I cannot argue with the solid effort they put in. Congratulations on an amazing collection guys, keep up the good work please and thank you, please, thank you. Please and thank you.

5th Place, Yippie!

Coming in at an undisputed #5 is JW Anderson’s collection, falling under the Pure Essence pillar. This is the first pillar of the Genius line, and JW Anderson has produced a collection focusing on the fluidity of gender within fashion by producing increasingly feminine silhouettes throughout the collection. The first half of the collection are these kinda ugly full-length down spiked jackets with detachable scarves. They feature a mini wavy pleat at the foot of the jacket, a JW Anderson menswear staple. Not my cup of tea; they kind of look like those turtleshell bags everyone in elementary school had with the spikes on them. The rest of the collection is gorgeous, though. Amazing silhouettes, crazy Japanese prints, overall pretty good, pretty pretty good. Anderson’s color-blocking is always consistent, especially shining here with some impeccable autumnal palettes. Absolutely scrumptious collection, can’t wait for seconds, yum yum.

4th Place, Mom Would Be Proud

Alyx and 1017 Alyx 9SM are the same brand--fun fact, who knew? Pillar six, Wearable Geometry, is tackled here by alpha chad Matthew M Williams. He titles his collection “An Urban Study of The Mountains.” I love Alyx, so… biased alert. All the Alyx staples are here, rollercoaster belts everywhere, sick boots on all the models, experimental and chic tailoring-- OMG, there it is. I love the monochromatic colors. This is urban done right. Take notes, Fujiwara. The mohair-accentuated hoods are sick and showcase Williams’ first step into facial accessories, pairing with a sick pair of ski goggles. The mix of down and skin-tight ski suits fit super well too, so I have very few complaints. This collection is commercial, not pushing boundaries, but elegant nonetheless. I’m a happy camper; let me know in the comments if you are too.

3rd Is The One With The Treasure Chest

Third place goes to Simone Rocha, representing the fourth Genius Pillar of Pragmatic Feminity. Simone Rocha is a Chinese and Irish female designer who takes extreme inspiration from her cultural routes. The collection is the definition of feminine Moncler in the most traditional sense. Most of the garments are made from tulle, a material often found in ballerina tutus and dresses. This brilliantly ties into the pillar and creates these gorgeous free-form flowy dresses. I am absolutely obsessed with this collection. The floral prints are perfection, the jackets are eloquently feminine, absolutely no complaints. Deciding the top three was impossible. I got no jokes for Simone, just keep mean-mugging and keep up the unbelievable work.

2nd Is The Best, Congratulations

Here we see the 8th pillar: Going Viral, and boy oh boy is that embodied to perfection. This impressive collection was designed by young and budding British designer Richard Quinn, a mastermind, and thief. The prints featured in this collection inspire immediate orgasm. Every single pattern is mesmerizing. The colors, the detail, oh my god. His ability to form down material, an already unruly fabric, into the form-fitting and extravagant silhouettes we see here is indescribable. This collection would have been #1 if it was not for the heavy Pierpaolo inspiration, which unfortunately was the highlight of the collection. I am talking about these absolutely drool-worthy down ball gown dresses. They are perfection. Quinn is a master tailor, and pairing his flawless silhouettes with the impeccable prints begs for praise. These dresses would be internet-breaking if Pierpaolo did not do the exact same thing last year with the Moncler Genius project. Regardless, they are still exquisite, and the one fishtail down dress really stole the show. Good job Mr. Quinn. You are and shall always be Mr. Quinn, no big fat baby slander.

1st Is The Worst, Better Luck Next Time

Craig Green is nuts, aesthetically, conceptually, and physically in the clothes he produces. I am always excited to see his interpretation of Moncler within the Genius line, this year under the Dress as Habitat pillar. Mr. Green is obsessed with uniform, specifically his ability to design it to a point where it no longer becomes synonymous with the profession it is meant to represent. An effortless transposition of silhouettes and colors creating a new language for the clothes always shines in his collections. He is known to go all-out creative crazy in the most brilliant ways, and here we see a little bit of that. In this collection, he has created form-fitting down armor. He uses down material as a print to form and contour to fit the body, creating an exoskeleton. This shit is absolutely nuts. My eyes cannot comprehend what I am seeing. First of all, these are clearly not commercially viable. There is no way you can wear these on the slopes of the street. Everything about it is appealing, though. The colors are fantastic. The material use is brilliant. The inability of the mind to comprehend what it’s looking at inspires it to look longer. I cannot peel my eyes off these things. I would not expect anything else from Craig Green, so here we are with a well deserved #1 spot.

Cover Photo: Courtesy of Moncler Genius