Cultural Icons Hiroshi Fujiwara And Richard Wilson Join Forces For Moncler’s ‘City of Genius’ At Shanghai Fashion Week

Since its debut in the early oughts, Shanghai Fashion Week has cemented its place on the global fashion calendar as a dynamic celebration of boundary-pushing creativity at the apex of Chinese and international fashion. The year’s edition is set to end with an activation that promises to take cross-disciplinary creativity to a new level – or rather, back to its childhood feeling of freedom. On October 19, 2024, Moncler has unveiled the ‘City of Genius’, a “metropolis of immersive experiences.” Inspired by Shanghai’s vibrant creative energy, the City of Genius represents the next iteration of the Moncler Genius platform, Moncler’s evolving curatorial approach to creative action.

Envisioned as a global hub of creativity, the activation is brought to life by creative iconoclasts from music, film, fashion, and cinema to explore the question: How do you live Genius? Their responses manifest as immersive experiences, including a showcase of Moncler’s latest collections across various ‘districts’ within a sprawling 30,000 m² space. This setup encourages creative communities to gather, exchange ideas, and recharge their unique sense of creativity.

At the heart of the City of Genius is the belief that everyone is born a genius, but that we lose touch with our innate creativity as we grow up. This idea is supported by a 1960s study showing that while 98% of five-year-olds were classified as geniuses, only 2% of adults retained that classification. “The process of living and the constraints of growing up somehow de-geniuses the mind,” Moncler Genius notes.

To redress the balance and inspire audiences worldwide to reconnect with their childlike curiosity, Moncler Genius has enlisted a powerhouse lineup of global creatives to co-create the City of Genius. This includes Edward Enninful (OBE), Donald Glover, Hiroshi Fujiwara of FRGMT, A$AP Rocky, Willow Smith, Lulu Li, Palm Angels, and Nigo in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz. Rick Owens and Jil Sander will also contribute to a special showcase.

In celebration of Chinese artistry, photographer, artist, and filmmaker Wing Shya directs a short film, featuring singer-songwriter and artist Leah Dou, which captures the Moncler Genius philosophy and its connection to Shanghai. Artist Xu Bing further ties together the campaign, film, and overall experience with his unique expression of calligraphy.

Ahead of the City of Genius launch, Ignant caught up with Hiroshi Fujiwara and Richard Wilson on their co-created contribution to the City. Widely viewed as the godfather of Tokyo’s Harajuku streetstyle, Fujiwara, a longtime Moncler Genius collaborator, has redefined streetwear, design, and music, turning collaboration into a hallmark of his creative process, notably through his FRGMT platform. For his contribution to the City of Genius, his inspirations led him to team up with renowned British artist-sculptor Richard Wilson, known for his architectural interventions. Exclusively for Ignant, they share the inspirations behind their collaboration.

Fujiwara recalls the early influence of his older sister’s passion for music, which sparked his own lifelong obsession. “I grew up listening to all different kinds of music, which later developed my interest in the Punk music scene. Curiosity is something I developed in childhood and it still inspires me today. I love learning new things and interpreting them in my own way.” His creativity is anything but individualistic, however. “My imagination doesn’t stray too far because I usually collaborate with partners. I aim to align with their identities, regardless of the field we’re working in,” he explains.

For his City of Genius concept, Fujiwara wanted to challenge the conventional idea of a city. “Instead of a bustling, crowded place, I envisioned an empty city – a place of reflection.” This concept immediately brought to mind the work of Richard Wilson, particularly his iconic 1987 waste-oil installation, ‘20:50’. “The way it played with reflections left a lasting impression on me, and I felt it aligned perfectly with my vision for this project,” Fujiwara says.

Wilson reflects on the original installation: “My work has always been about altering perception, knocking the viewer’s understanding off-kilter. In 20:50, I flooded a gallery with oil, creating a perfect, reflective horizontal plane that mirrored the room’s architecture, distorting its depth and material quality.” For the City of Genius, Wilson drew on 20:50 to design a sensory experience titled ‘Looking Glass’, which hosts FRGMT’s designs. “It defies conventional artistic genres by exploring the intersection of sight and site,” says Wilson. “It’s also about achieving stillness amid the chaos of a city.”

Fujiwara is excited by the future of Shanghai’s fashion scene, particularly its “incredible pool of emerging talent,” he says. “I’m eager to see how these designers are pushing boundaries and bringing fresh ideas to the table. I’m looking forward to collaborating with them and seeing how their vision complements and challenges existing trends.” That includes breaking down barriers between creative fields. “Music and fashion were once closely linked, while luxury and streetwear used to be worlds apart. Moncler Genius bridges those gaps, consistently pushing boundaries.”

Wilson and Fujiwara hope their collaboration will inspire audiences to reconnect with their own creativity. “Creative thinking is not a mystical talent. It’s a skill that can be practised and nurtured,” says Wilson, emphasizing the role of curiosity. “Curiosity is a state of arousal that sparks an interest in learning and drives healthy development.”

Reflecting on what makes art impactful, Wilson adds, “Great work shouldn’t be about one thing. It should have a richness of ideas and energy that keeps it relevant. If we can enhance architecture through an unexpected material and make it memorable, we’ve transformed both the space and the viewer.”