In the 1930s, when the last unexplored regions of the world were being “found,” Martin and Osa Johnson, an American couple from Kansas, delighted audiences in theaters with films of their aerial safaris throughout Africa and Borneo. Both pilots and photographers, the Johnsons explored Kenya and Tanganyika in 1933, taking the first aerial photograph of Mt. Kilimanjaro and documenting herds of wild animals on the Serengeti Plain.
Eddie Bauer is credited for inventing and patenting the first quilted down jacket in America, back in 1940. However, Moncler is synonymous with ‘down for the jet set’, and for Fall 2009 they unveiled Gamme Blue– a collection designed by Thom Browne. The looks are classic Thom Browne in terms of tailoring, and the very ‘tight and trad’ color story echoes Moncler’s heritage. Some of the looks are very editorial, and therefore down-right silly. Others are just what you expect when you think Thom Browne + Moncler.
Moncler’s story goes back to 1952 when they started producing technical mountain sports gear. They say their first down jacket came about when the Moncler workers made them for their own wearing inside the factory during the colder months. Necessity is the mother of invention, right?
The Selvedge Yard 