We Sit Down With Salehe Bembury, Moncler’s Man Of The Moment
At the beginning of this week, Moncler debuted its next wave of fearless footwear at Studio Ascenti in Paris. Amongst some of our favorite models like the Gaia boot and Peka Trek, we saw a fresh, new twist on the Trailgrip Grain thanks to (Moncler) genius Salehe Bembury.
Bembury is a game-changer in the world of footwear design, there’s no doubt about that. The Native New Yorker has been tapped for a variety of collabs over the past few years, so it’s no surprise that he’s now joined forces with the likes of Moncler — especially when both share an undying love for the great outdoors.
In true Bembury style, the whole collab on the ‘Moncler ēquipments’ collection screams adventure, from functional backpacks and padded jackets to quilted pants and waterproof parkas — but it's his Trailgrip Grain that’s really caught our eye. The GORE-TEX upper can withstand harsh weather conditions, while the hand-stitching of his famous thumbprint motif adds a sweet Salehe stamp. With a Vibram MEGAGRIP outsole for added traction and a comfy cork footbed, you just know he created this shoe with exploration in mind.
I could go on about what brought this all to life, but it’s best you hear it from the Moncler mastermind of the moment himself.
So it’s pretty apparent from your previous work and what you've done here with Moncler that you love nature. When did this connection with the outdoors start for you?
Born and raised in NYC, the majority of my experiences existed in an urban setting, taking the train around all the time and being amongst tall buildings. My family was good at doing little weekend excursions, but for the most part, I was a real city kid. When I moved to LA, my proximity to nature increased significantly, so I was able to start my days with hiking and camping. It was physically very close to me, but at the same time, it didn’t feel the most welcoming at first.
It plays a big role in a lot of your designs and your creative process. What about it do you find inspiring?
In the beginning, I'd say the color palette and shapes, but I don't know whether that was sincere or not. Now it's just simply that I spend time in the outdoors, and I notice things that can be improved. I pay attention to utility and function, and any human that spends an amount of time doing something that they're passionate about is going to be able to dissect and deconstruct to ultimately figure out how to improve the experience. So with my designer's mind, I do that tenfold.
Talk me through the story of your Trailgrip.
Moncler is in an age of infancy in regards to their sneaker program, and they were working with Nathan Van Hook, who's a legend in the footwear space. So I was extremely honored to work with him as I’ve been a fan of his work and him for the longest time. Both myself, Nathan, and Moncler really prioritized the outdoors, utility, and innovation, which made the collaborative conversation extremely easy. In all honesty, I just wanted to make a really fucking cool shoe. Sometimes people try to get too poetic, but my goal has always been to make cool shit.
If you had to sketch out a character or a persona for the Trailgrip, what would it look like?
Someone with a lot of tools and bags because then, at the end of the day, when you're in nature, you really just want to be equipped with as many things as you need to survive and solve the obstacles of the outdoors. So yeah, a bag person.
Can you talk a bit more about this thumbprint motif that we see across a lot of your designs?
That goes back to the more literal inspiration of nature. I really loved wood grain. I loved the organic shapes, I loved the parallel lines. I identified that most successful artists and designers have a recognizable brand mark or identity, and I didn't have that yet. I wasn't really searching for it, but it just happened organically, pun intended. It's extremely versatile, and it has some relationship with camo and the outdoors which I plan on exploring for a long time.
This idea of humanizing luxury is something you've touched on before, particularly through the outdoors. How do you think you make this space accessible for everyone?
For the longest time, my personal relationship with the outdoors was something that felt exclusive. The environment was extremely occupied by an old white male audience, and there was nothing wrong with that, but I just felt like, you know, the outdoors is for everyone. Regardless of who you are, and where you're from, you can benefit from it. So it made me want to observe and analyze. The fact that people don't feel welcome comes down to education, opportunity, resources, and representation. When I’m hiking every day, singing and whatnot, my audience gets to see a black man in the woods — and that’s extremely powerful.
What communities do you think currently play an important role in the fashion world? Who do you connect to most?
The outdoors community. They're not necessarily designers, but there's so much fashion that exists in that space. You could have a hiker that's in a full utilitarian kit with all his tools for exploring, but he looks fucking ill. I think there's something really cool about that because he doesn't even acknowledge that he looks cool. If you showed him walking down the runway, people would be fascinated. It’s like the relationship between rappers and basketball players. All rappers want to be ball players, and all ball players want to be rappers. I almost could say all designers want to be like outdoors enthusiasts, and the other way around.
Why do you enjoy working with Moncler?
Being from New York, there were always outerwear brands that you would actually get to own yourself and then others that were purely out of reach. At 14, I didn't have X amount of dollars to buy Moncler. I’d see it on the train and all around me. It was this aspirational brand that I knew had significance. As I got older and discovered my design priorities, I realized that we shared a lot of the same interests in products. So that’s why this collaboration made a lot of sense because really want my work to come from a place of authenticity.
In the fashion world, we see different brands pull a lot from different communities. How do you think these designers can respect these people in the right way rather than appropriating their ideologies?
It comes down to like acknowledgment. You want to just make sure the right people are in the room having the right conversations. There are nuances and details that matter, so you need to make sure you’re working with the correct people to bring that to fruition.
What do you feel is something you've gained along the way with your design career?
Accessing expertise. I used to have that perspective that if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. I think at this point in my career; it's really all about accessing the individual or brand that is both passionate and extremely talented in that thing. You need to trust the people that are good at what they do.
What is something in the realm of footwear design or design in general that you haven't done yet, but that you really want to experiment with?
The thing that inspired me to become a footwear designer was basketball. I have yet to see someone dunk in my shoes! That would make the 10-year-old in me very happy.
I would just like to step further into the world of function and continue to explore utility. For a while now, I've made shoes that look good, but I think I'd like to make shoes that look, feel, and function at the highest level.
Shop Moncler x Salehe Bembury ‘Moncler ēquipments’ on the Highsnobiety shop.
