Meet the Masterminds Behind Moncler’s Biggest Swing Yet

The two-story, nearly 24,000-square-foot boutique, located in the General Motors building, was conceived by Parisian interiors studio Gilles & Boissier. Checked flooring, vaulted ceilings, and waterfall glass displays surround Moncler’s soft goods with hard edge, courtesy of the brand’s longtime design partners, who have worked on storefronts with Moncler everywhere from Zurich to Beijing. The mountain-meets-metropolis interiors are adorned with works from Jean-Guillaume Mathiaut, Paul Bik, and Arno Declercq, as well as a towering sculpture from Ugo Rondinone. The latter bridges the main floor and second story, which is dominated by a display of Moncler’s aprés-ski and mountaineering Grenoble collection. On the ground level, visitors will find men’s, women’s, and children’s pieces, as well as designer collaborations, New York exclusives, and footwear.

This New York Fashion Week, the brand brought together friends including Cher, Anne Hathaway, Julia Roberts, Spike Lee, François Arnaud, and more to celebrate the flagship’s opening with DJ sets by Mark Ronson and Carlita, as well as cocktails and canapés by chef Yann Nury. But ahead of the festivities, designers Patrick Gilles and Dorothée Boissier sat down with CULTURED to discuss the soon-to-be packed space, as well as their enduring partnership with the brand, work bringing artists into retail, and the New York iconography that snuck its way into their interiors.

What in your creative process set this location—the largest Moncler storefront in the world—apart from your previous work for the brand? 

This store is truly an architectural manifesto of Moncler and its identity, but also the culmination of 20 years of history between us. What sets it apart is, of course, its scale, its monumental character, and its proportions. Its almost museum-like quality is also much more present here than in other Moncler stores. Moving through the space becomes a real discovery of a unique environment, where art occupies a central place.

The “sense of place” is also essential. The store pays tribute to New York through its monumental proportions: At the entrance, columns more than eight meters high structure the space. They become almost like a miniature city, with a succession of micro-architectures echoing New York’s skyscrapers.

The two large, textured-glass columns can appear, depending on the way they are perceived, either as illuminated glass buildings or as columns of ice, directly evoking the glaciers of the mountains. This duality perfectly expresses Moncler’s identity, at the intersection of the mountain and the city.

Describe your relationship with the featured artists. How do their pieces point back to Moncler’s signature iconography?

An artist with whom we have developed a long-standing relationship of trust is Mathieu Naab, whose work we particularly appreciate and with whom we have collaborated on many projects. What is particularly interesting about this store is that Naab created a series of completely monumental, bespoke screens specifically for the space. These screens are integrated directly into the architecture of the store, interacting with its structure and becoming an integral part of the project. What we particularly enjoy is this very strong relationship between architecture and art, where one does not simply decorate the other but they truly become part of the same language.

As for Ugo Rondinone, the inclusion of his work was the personal wish of Mr. Ruffini [Remo Ruffini, Executive Chairman], who particularly appreciates the artist. Here, the work takes on a very strong meaning because the architecture and the artwork enhance one another. The architecture creates a void between the two levels, allowing the scale of the work to fully express itself and become a focal point, extending across both floors of the store.

The blocks of stone evoke the mountain, while their particular forms bring a certain brutality and rawness that feels very appropriate to Moncler’s aesthetic. We also appreciate this brutalist dimension in the work of artists such as Arno Declercq, as well as Birk, whose work we particularly enjoy for its approach to volume. The artists selected for this store were often chosen for this rough, almost brutalist quality. It brings a very interesting tension to the space and reinforces the architectural character of the store.

Were there any specific Moncler designs that served as inspiration for your work?

As an architectural manifesto for Moncler, the store contributes to the expression of a multifaceted identity. The mountain: Moncler’s original foundation. Moncler’s mountain DNA is expressed from the very façade. Saint Williams granite, raw and dense, establishes a strong mineral presence. Inside, it structures columns, arches and walls, while the checkerboard floor alternates between polished surfaces and raw textures. In the Men’s space, two monumental textured-glass columns rise like cascading waterfalls frozen in ice. Designed as vitrines in their own right, they will present Moncler pieces as if displayed in a precious setting at the heart of the material.

Moncler’s French DNA finds a deliberate expression here, as well. Moldings, cornices, coffered ceilings, exposed beams, oak, and charred-wood panelling bring a distinctly French refinement and architectural coherence to the space. The precision of the materials, the rigor of the lines, and the control of proportions establish a classical balance. Upstairs, a sequence of rooms creates a rigorous perspective. Vitrines, niches, and moldings, arranged symmetrically, evoke the quiet order of a library or an archive room. The private lounge, conceived as a Parisian apartment, extends and reinterprets these codes.

Moncler asserts here its sense of spectacle, carried and amplified by an architecture conceived as a true stage-setting device. From the entrance on Fifth Avenue, the volume—with more than eight meters of ceiling height—imposes a spectacular sense of verticality. Monumental columns rhythmically structure the space, while an autonomous “cabinet of curiosities” welcomes seasonal installations. The flagship thus goes beyond its sole commercial function to become an architectural experience.

There are so many touchpoints in the space, from the Moncler Theatre to the private lounge on the Moncler Grenoble-dedicated second floor. How should first-time visitors plan to navigate through it all?

What is particularly interesting here is that, within this large double-height space, we wanted to create a true archipelago of discoveries. We positioned several points of interest like “islands” in the archipelago, such as Matthieu Naab’s screens, the refugio, and the textured glass “podium” columns. These elements subtly guide the visitor, allowing them to experience different sensations and leading them through a kind of initiatory journey.

Upstairs, the space is more immediately legible. Here, we have created a highly symmetrical environment with a strong sense of perspective. It is closer to the vocabulary of a boutique, while also allowing the visitor to enter a more intimate and reassuring space after experiencing the much more experimental and spectacular environments below.

When designing a store, which touchpoints do you consider first or most important? 

For us, the first thing we have in mind when designing a store is the first impression, the first sensation. We always want the visitor to feel something strong when they enter a store. This is why we pay particular attention to the entrance of each location. It can sometimes have a very distinctive design that echoes the city in which it is located. In Paris, for example, it is the impressive limestone entrance with its Versailles-inspired marble floor. In Milan, it is the original moulding of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

Here, at the Moncler Fifth Avenue store, the visitor enters an impressive double-height space. The first impression is truly spectacular: the visitor is immediately struck by the grandeur of the space. This is particularly interesting because, after leaving Fifth Avenue and its large buildings, you enter a new environment—an interior architecture with a different scale, yet one that remains equally grand.

What is most important to us is that the visitor can immediately feel the spirit and history of Moncler. This is especially true when entering such an iconic house as Moncler: its identity, its history and its DNA must be felt through every architectural detail and become a physical manifestation of these intangible elements.

Anne Hathaway at the flagship celebration.

Cher

Julia Roberts

Willy Chavarria

Adriana Lima

Tonya Lewis and Spike Lee

Amy Julliette Lefévre

Helena Christensen

Carine Roitfeld

Isaac Hindin-Miller

Serena Williams