On any night of the week, clubs across the UK shake with sounds of dance music. It’s pretty much been that way since the early 90s, when rave first emerged as a truly British cultural movement. While the genres and subcultures that play out in these dark rooms continue to evolve, there’s a deeper constant that connects the dancer in each of them.
Rave music has always had an undeniable mind and body power. A meditative, even spiritual one. It’s a huge part of why people keep on coming back to its many scenes and sounds – whatever they might be.
Putting this club euphoria under a reimagined lens is Moncler. This season, the Italian label’s upcoming 2 Moncler 1952 Man collection, rooted in London club heritage, have created a spell-binding short dance film that captures the transcendental power of loud bass, dreamy synths, and intertwining bodies. Conducting the film's movement direction is pioneering choreographer, Thomas Heyes, AKA Blackhaine.
Beneath 90s-nodding breakbeat, house, trance and techno produced especially for the film, Thomas directs the movement of fellow dancers, Max Cookward, Jordan Ajadi, and Moronfoluwa Odimayo through different ranging states of euphoria – while featuring himself, too.
“I wanted to create a sculptural piece for each state, and then use exhaustive movement to allow gradual fragmentation,” Thomas explains. “The score helped build a narrative for the movement, inspired by trance states and jungle breaks.”
The TRANSCENDANCE dancers are outfitted in 2 Moncler 1952 Man AW22 and styled by Dazed fashion director Imruh Asha. The clothes, dreamed up by Sergio Zambon on actual dancefloors, are made for movement; a heady mix of freeing nylons and hike-or-rave gear in colour palettes and textures that respond to club lights. Extending the British heritage connection beyond the dancefloor, the collection also comprises key collaboration pieces with Clarks and Barbour.
While the 2 Moncler 1952 Man collection nods to the overarching concept of “the trip”, the idea and act of club escapism, particularly in cases when it loses all connection to the music and movement, is something Thomas wanted to call into question with TRANSCENDANCE.
“The club brand of escapism seems like a shallow hedonism,” Thomas added. "I’m interested in the after-effects of escapism, not just the feeling itself. In my work, this idea appears as an inverted reflection of a current state, so it’s a more abstracted reality.”