Recently, luxury design houses have been under a lot of scrutiny due to the lack of empathy and knowledge when it comes to presenting collections that some deem offensive, and even racist. Moncler was one of them after their blackface collection. 

Well, Moncler may have redeemed themselves after debuting their Moncler Genius collection during Milan Fashion Week which featured eight designer partnerships, including Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli. The iconic designer paired up with Ethiopian model/designer Leya Kebede to debut the most beautiful and masterfully crafted couture-esque puffer gowns. 

Take a look at the beautiful collection below. 

The collection consists of eleven puffer gowns featuring traditional Ethiopian prints. The presentation included a cast of all African models, so you can’t help but feel exhilarated seeing the brown beauties resembling Black, porcelain in rich and vibrant hues.

Leya, the African-born, world-renowned supermodel turned designer uses ethical fabrics and supports local artisans for her Lemlem brand, so she was excited to collaborate on this collection. She took to Instagram to say, “I was honored to be a part of this creative process, bringing together heritages that at first glimpse seemed so different but when unexpectedly combined, create something so rich and new, redefining beauty and reminding us that there are no borders in life.” 

Pier stayed true to his couture background featuring silhouettes that look like they came down the Valentino runway. When asked about the collection, Pier said, “I am after a balance of dreaminess, extravagance, and soulfulness. I involved Liya Kebede, who is an active supporter of African artisans with her label lemlem, in the process, creating something true to her, to Moncler and to my own sensibility. Connecting diversities is my idea of inclusive creativity."

He also posted a photo on Instagram sharing a quote from Barack Obama: “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Some are still on the fence about the brand but this sure is a great start in the right direction.

Moncler ditched the traditional seasonal collection opting for iconic designer collaborations for the second year in a row. The collections will drop monthly starting this fall.