You might have seen Moncler and adidas Originals’ latest collaboration quite literally blowing up on social media, with traffic light puffers and bubble-padded trainers filling up your feeds. Designed to push the boundaries of co-creation through a combination of the brands’ iconic styles (think: three-striped city sportswear meets pillowy outdoor looks) the collection also finds inspiration in physical boundaries, spanning mountaintops and the metropolitan cities below. Fitting, then, that the accompanying campaign is titled The Art of Explorers, bringing IRL explorers together with AI-generated adventurers and unique, mixed-media sculptures.

More specifically, The Art of Explorers showcases work from a range of world-class creatives, featuring make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench, photographer Hanna Moon, Dazed 100 set designer Ibby Njoya, and more. The brief? To envision their own humanoid explorers or “avatars”, with looks from the Moncler x adidas Originals collection serving as a jumping-off point – from signature Moncler silhouettes reimagined with adidas iconography, to ski-inspired outerwear that blends function and form.

The results range from costume designer Kate Tabor’s sculptural garments that cover the body in mirrored shapes, to reflective, vacuum-formed masks from Ffrench and life-size, puffed-up robots by Gary Card. “The concept was very philosophical to me, finding beauty in real things like sculptures, model’s movements, or in-between moments,” says Moon, who captured the project. “It made me think about where we are now and what’s happening to our creativity.” Crossing yet another boundary, the physical experience also entered the metaverse via a new, immersive platform on Moncler’s website.

Want to see how The Art of Explorers all came together first-hand? Then you’re in luck! In a behind-the-scenes video from the collaboration, shared exclusively via Dazed, some of the creative roster – which also included stylist Ai Kamoshita and hair stylist Shiori Takahashi – explain the reasoning behind their outlandish creations, and how they brought them to life. Njoya, for example, talks drawing inspiration from the Ndebele and Kayan tribes, reminded of their copper neck rings by the neck of a puffer from the collection, while Card describes the initial vision – “faithful puffer warrior companion” – behind his sculptures.

Watch the video in full above.