MONCLER & SALEHE BEMBURY'S TRANSFORMATIVE DESIGN

In recent years, the needle of sneaker design has been dramatically shifted, spearheaded by a visionary who views the possibilities of form and function as limitless. That creative is Salehe Bembury: a design revolutionary who has been responsible for some of the most disruptive, cutting-edge sneaker releases the world has seen. To celebrate the launch of his collaboration with Moncler, END. managed to grab five minutes with the creative luminary at Studio Ascenti Paris, the experiential event celebrating Moncler’s ground-breaking footwear offerings, speaking with him about his transformative design approach, his love of collaborations and his partnership with Moncler.

What’s striking most about the footwear that Salehe Bembury designs is his ability to take elements of the familiar and rework them into something innovative and, at times, other-worldly, constantly expanding the horizons of footwear’s form and function. On this approach and how it informed his take on the Moncler Trailgrip, dubbed “Grain”, Salehe commented “when I approach footwear, it's really either about aesthetic or it's about function and then figuring out the balance or percentages needed of each one. Some brands prioritise the way a shoe looks and then some brands prioritise the way a shoe works. In this instance, Moncler has such a high priority on innovation, function and newness. This, coupled with getting to work with Nathan VanHook — a legend in the footwear space — it was really easy to have that creative dialogue”.

A cornerstone of Salehe’s design approach is the incorporation of the organic, reflecting his deep appreciation for finding beauty and serenity in natural landscapes. “I'm a born and raised native New Yorker, I spent my time growing up in a city around buildings and taking trains to school. Seven years ago, I moved to Los Angeles, where I very organically — pun intended — discover the outdoors. I think anything that we do consistently, there's like a natural inspiration that occurs. So there have been some little inspirations like colour palette, and then there's been some more indirect inspirations like problem solving and utility. I really just use that as the catalyst for my work because I spend so much time in those environments”, said Salehe, touching upon drawing inspiration from the great outdoors. It’s this use of nature as a springboard for design that represents the core of Salehe’s creative vision, one where nature, city and the wearer all intertwine.

Salehe Bembury partnering with Moncler is a synergetic partnership rooted in utility, innovation and outdoor heritage, manifesting in cutting-edge product that comments on the relationship between people and nature. On what drew Salehe to working with Moncler, the designer reflects upon his New York upbringing: “so again, growing up in New York, there were brands that we saw almost every day. Some brands were aspirational, some of them you owned on your own, but it was this repetition of logos that really beat the brand identity and ethos into your head. Moncler was a brand that I would see all the time. It was an aspirational brand. I personally never owned it, but I kind of understood what it stood for, and then as I began to maybe have a little bit more disposable income and began to appreciate design, I realised a brand like Moncler is really in line with my priorities and what I care about as a designer. So that, coupled with getting to work with Nate, was a huge honour”.

Collaborations are a fundamental tool for cross pollination in the world of fashion, taking two creative visions and merging them together to open new spaces and territories with product. Moncler Genius has been revolutionary in pushing collaborative design into uncharted territory, providing a platform for co-creation between luminary minds within the industry. Salehe Bembury is also designer at the forefront of collaborative innovation, making him the perfect choice for the next instalment of Moncler Genius. For Salehe, collaborations are crucial for exploring new spaces with design — “I think that really no idea can make it too far existing in one person's head. Collaboration is imperative for successful design work and whether that collaboration is between two different brands or whether that collaboration is just multiple people under the same roof, it's necessary to bounce ideas off people and to get feedback, because if not, you're going to stay in a vacuum within your own head”. Collaborative design is a process of combining two distinct — and sometimes vastly dissimilar — aesthetic and functional codes together: an exacting process requiring careful consideration from those at the helm. For Salehe, successfully fusing the design codes of Moncler and his own creative vision is a process that’s instinctual: “I really think it's just something that comes from the gut. I think maybe just looking at the shoe might be the answer, but really, it's something that comes from within — it's a feeling”.