It's all very well to have a winter jacket with two dozen pockets, an iPod holder, and Bluetooth technology. But why fuss with a secreted-away shuffle button when the larger concern is that, après-ski, you look like a distended tangerine?
What a relief, then, that the traditional French mountaineering brand Moncler decided long ago to resist the new gadgetry regime in outerwear. Its down jackets, instead, rely on the more important aspects of a winter coat: how it fits, and how warm it is. (Click here to see a slideshow of Moncler coats.)
Founded in 1952 in the alpine village of Monestier de Clermont (abbreviate it and you get the company's name), Moncler quickly established itself by outfitting headline-grabbing expeditions, including the still-controversial first ascent of K2 in 1954 and the ascent of another 8,000-plus meter peak, the Himalayan Makalu, the following year. By producing lightweight tents (in then-groundbreaking materials like waterproof nylon), goose down–filled sleeping bags, and warm, rugged clothes, Moncler earned a mountain-conquering reputation. But perhaps the most significant influence on its early development was the man who would become its technical consultant, Lionel Terray. An alpine skier and the first man to climb Makalu, Terray demanded a then-unusual goose down–filled jacket. Up to that point, goose down had mostly been used in zip-up camper cocoons.
"You could attempt the impossible in the high mountains and go beyond the human limits we know today," he exclaimed on first encountering the warm, yet remarkably light, coats. Since then, the firm has become synonymous with the down jacket, insulating everyone from the 1968 French Olympic ski team to the editorial staff of Madame Figaro magazine, who posed in Moncler for their 1988 Christmas card. "It was and still is a reference point where down jackets are concerned," says the Italian entrepreneur Remo Ruffini, who took over the brand in 2003. "Time has proven me right; Moncler is now the brand of the 'global down jacket.' "
