Premier Retail

Moncler Old Bond Street

Moncler
Written by Roma Publications

Moncler, Knightsbridge

Moncler

Prestigious clothing brand Moncler has opened a new London flagship store as part of its Global retail expansion plan. The new Moncler store sits in the heart of London’s luxury shopping area on Old Bond Street, Knightsbridge.

Moncler is a high-end designer brand that has over 60 years of history within retail, creating versatile products based around a love of nature and sport. Originating in 1952, Moncler – an abbreviation of the mountain village Monestier-de-Clermont – was founded by René Ramillon and André Vincent.

The brand started out with the production of quilted sleeping bags before it moved on to produce its now famous down jackets. The jackets, which were created to protect workers from the cold in 1954, have played a key role in various historic events, including the Italian expedition to K2 and the 1968 Grenoble Winter Olympics.

For the majority of its lifespan, Moncler was largely known as a French brand, however when current chairman and CEO Remo Ruffini acquired the company in 2003 he laid out a grand vision to reposition Moncler as a global name. This grand vision worked and now Moncler operates in 70 countries, with more than 180 mono-brand boutiques within the luxurious portfolio.

The new Moncler boutique on Old Bond Street boasts around 330m2 of retail space and is spread across three floors. The boutique showcases Moncler’s fashion lines such as Moncler Gamme Bleu, Moncler Gamme Rouge and Moncler Grenoble for men and women, as well as Moncler Enfant.

Gilles & Bossier was the design practice appointed to deliver Moncler Old Bond Street. Gilles & Bossier have a long-standing working relationship with the brand and design all the Moncler stores to reflect the brand’s unique personality.

Within the Old Bond Street store, an ‘haute montagne’ atmosphere has been recreated by the studio, using chêne fume wooden floors and walls. Meanwhile, white calacatta and black marquina marble has also been incorporated, along with burnished brass furnishings to reflect the prestigious nature of the brand.

The new boutique store increases Moncler’s presence in London, joining a sister site which has operated on Sloane Street since 2009.

For more information about Moncler, please visit: www.moncler.com.

 

Light IQ

Light IQ is an award-winning independent lighting consultancy, specialising in high-end retail and residential projects worldwide. The practice has been in operation since 2001 and within this time Light IQ has built up a packed portfolio of projects which includes Park Chinois and Duck & Rice for Alan Yau, Bronte restaurant with Tom Dixon and two luxury brands for Kering, amongst others.

Most recently, Light IQ has been involved with Moncler on Old Bond Street. Working on this scheme Light IQ offered their specialist consultancy skills to ensure the right lighting ambiance was created at the first UK flagship store. The team included Senior Designer Flick Ansell and Junior Designer Matthew Allen-Olivar.

Gerardo Olvera, Design Director of Light said:

“I joined Light IQ in 2014 to merge forces with founder Rebecca Weir so that, with our combined experience and expertise, we could create a practice that works on high-end residential and commercial schemes. This includes Moncler, a client I had worked with before. I’ve also known the designers, Gilles & Boissier, for many years and have worked with them on other prestigious projects.

“For the Moncler project, we were invited directly by the client to collaborate on new flagship stores in New York, London and Seoul. We were asked to create a lighting scheme that replicated the intimacy and the ambience of a luxurious private residence, while still making it suitable for high-end fashion retail. The result is a soft and warm atmosphere throughout the store, with fully integrated lighting details in the furniture and architecture. Interestingly nothing is dimmable within the store, so we had to carefully design with the right amount of brightness, at the right location.”

Gerardo added:

“It is a privilege to work with a brand such as Moncler. It gives us an insight into just how this global group operates and why every detail is so important. It was an exciting opportunity.

“We also love working with Gilles & Bossier. Patrick and Dorothée trust us and when we make recommendations that may change their design in order to improve the overall feel and look of the interior, they take these suggestions on board. The end result can be very rewarding and very satisfying for all those involved in this process.”

 

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Roma Publications