What does it take to conquer K2, the second-tallest mountain in the world (after Everest)? According to Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli, the first climbers to achieve the feat, in 1954, one needs a dash of determination and a hardy Moncler down jacket. Little did they know their sartorial decision would reach far beyond the outdoors. In the 1980s Italian journalist Grazia Coccia documented the jacket among Milan’s fashion-forward crowd. It is even more daring today: Valentino reimagined Moncler’s jacket as a gown, and Mercedes-Benz turned it into their signature G-Class SUV. The Moncler brand has been synonymous with high peaks for 70 years, a fact of which its new Karakorum capsule collection is a friendly reminder. Three new models give a lesson in Moncler History 101: The original 1954 jacket is revived in a loose-fitting cottonlike fabric; the bold colors and nylon of Milanese street style nod to the present (above); and a black matte tech fabric foretells adventures to come. Acrophobes steer clear.
1980s: The Moncler down jacket became a staple of the street style ensembles of Milan’s fashionable set, who were known as the paninari.
2022–23: Moncler celebrates its 70th anniversary with the launch of a reimagined take on that original jacket from 1954.
This story appears in the October 2023 issue of Town & Country.
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