Hiroshi Fujiwara On His Latest Moncler Collab

Hiroshi Fujiwara has many faces such as a creator, a producer, a musician and a godfather of streetwear. This background underscores his approach to crafting collections: wide-reaching reference, extensive sampling and offbeat collaborations, all fused together by his cultural sixth sense. He approaches fashion from a personal, if not egotistical, point of view: in making clothing that he himself would like to wear, Fujiwara touches a chord in his followers.

At Moncler, Fujiwara merges functional design and mysterious slogans with the brand’s technical expertise, delivering seemingly normal pieces that are in fact full of hidden surprises. This season, the offer includes, for the very first time, a capsule of womenswear, together with the fragment’s signature urban staples. The palette is in a rhapsody of black, while the look is layered and functional.

The first drop of 7 MONCLER FRGMT HIROSHI FUJIWARA 2021 focuses on lighter, mid-season items. For men, the range features bombers, puffers, workwear jackets, a diverse range of outerwear that nods to the designer’s streetwear heritage and more. For women, the range includes a quilted skirt matched with a puffer, a dress with quilted top, and outerwear shapes borrowed from the man’s wardrobe. Security patches and the new logo devised from Moncler’s vintage labels characterize the items, both boldly and discreetly. And always with an eye on tomorrow, Fujiwara has created a few garments with sustainable features.

Below, he discusses the latest collection, his masculine approach to designing womenswear and the influence of nightlife.

What have you been inspired by recently and how do those references feed into your new collection with Moncler?

[There is] no inspiration from specific things but my creation starts with the idea of what I want to wear.

In what ways does this collection differ with your other collaborations with Moncler?

This collection is a wrap of my preferred masterpieces from the past 3 years of continuous collaborations with Moncler and I added some improvement, choosing new fabrics and updating designs. The element that differs from the past was the black colour palette. Black has been my favourite colour for a long time, so at the very beginning of this creation I decided to pick up black as the key element of the upcoming collection.

Why was now the time to do a womenswear collection with Moncler and how did the approach differ to designing menswear?

A simple reason: I wanted a new challenge for me, which was to create a women’s collection with the Moncler design team who has lots of experience in womenswear and who are talented and have many new ideas of design and tech. There was a different process and I had tonnes of discussions with a female pattern maker that has been working close to me for a long time, even though my male perspective on women’s clothing was at the core of the collection. So, this made my women’s collection different from other women’s collections created by designers with female touches, so I look forward to hearing feedback from the market.

Why did you decide to incorporate sustainable features into the collection?

I received a proposal from Moncler’s team to create some items using sustainable fabrics. I am not a specialist in the sustainability category, but Moncler have been keen on this topic, so we decided to create pieces that were made of sustainable fabrics. One of them is DOMBAY, a bomber jacket made with organic cotton, which has been worn by Tomohisa Yamashita in the 7 MONCLER FRGMT movie.

What does the slogan featured throughout the collection, World of Moncler or WOM, mean to you?

This slogan came from my respect of Moncler’s heritage. Also, W and M which are set both sides are designed as upside down for each, so still you can see it in the same way even if you turn over this design. It can be said that Moncler has consistency with many distinct aspects such as its roots, high technology, finest design and communication approach, even if Moncler adds some new effects and tries new challenges, such as the Moncler Genius project. That is why you can feel Moncler’s uniqueness in any touch points. World of Moncler means its uniqueness and strength compared to other fashion brands.

The film which accompanies the collection is a celebration of nightlife: what does nightlife represent to you?

I quit going out to clubs a long time ago but I think it is a good social opportunity to see people in the new community and to generate new ideas.

What was your approach to creating the music featured in the film?

I created three song options with my music creation partner, Shunsuke Watanabe and proposed these to the director of this short film. Then, the director picked up a song inspired by 80’s rhythm.

Beyond your collaboration with Moncler, what’s next for you?

Stay tuned!