Moncler steals the show with DingYun Zhang

Born in China, Central Saint Martins’ MA graduate DingYun Zhang launched his eponymous label in February 2021, grabbing the attention of the fashion community with his futuristic collection showcasing gigantic volumes and gargantuan puffers. Zhang’s interest in function, padding and volume made him an ideal fit for Moncler. The collection he has devised merges Zhang’s futuristic aesthetic with Moncler’s unique craft, featuring padding obtained through thermo-glued irregular quilting.

Underpinning the endeavor is a rewiring of the relationship between garment and wearer, with inflated volumes floating around the body and transforming it in sculptural fashion. Playing with contrasts, Zhang took inspirations not from the mountains, Moncler’s original environment, but from the depths of the underwater world, and the spineless sea creatures that, with their organic forms, inhabit it. The collection represents the combination of human and animal activity in extreme conditions, with designs inspired by the way ice fishing tents and inflatable pools and vests can suspend themselves in aquatic environments, and how the sculptures in the underwater realm can be transformed with the fusion of sea life and the natural growth of coral.

The thought process behind the collection is rich and layered and the result is immediate and eye-catching, with details such as adjustable Chinese style knotted button, hidden zips and thumb-hole ribbed cuffs adding functionality. Huge volumes are obtained through extremely lightweight fabrics. The line-up includes coats, padded vests and cropped blousons either with or without a hood, made of shiny ultra-light crinkled nylon, completed with exaggerated padded face masks, cycling shorts and leggings. The color palette – a mix of brown, light green, light grey, sand, blue and earth tones – resembles the coral and fungi that naturally grow on top of sculptures submerged in the deep sea. The organic tones are translated into an abstract print, and color blocked layers are exposed by holes in the garments.