Moncler x Alicia Keys is peak New York

If anyone deserves the keys to New York City, it’s Alicia Keys. Raised in Manhattan before fine tuning her art in Harlem, the singer-songwriter is a proper ambassador: she’s studied, protested, performed, opened a recording studio, written a novel, influenced the fashion scene and started a family there. ​“It’s a concrete jungle where dreams are made of,” goes her 2009 hit Empire State of Mind, an ode to New York. ​“There’s nothing you can’t do.”

Now, the city’s at the epicentre of her new release with Moncler. Daring us all to dream, it cores the Big Apple and blitzes it into an aspirational collection spanning jackets, tees, trousers, shoes and accessories. It’s filed under the Genius tag, Moncler’s ongoing collaborative project which sees an array of creatives across all disciplines work with the French fashion house. Keys herself performed at last month’s mega Moncler Art of Genius presentation, singing in front of thousands of the brand’s fans, cutting-edge creatives and global stars at Olympia London.

As with any Moncler release, its functional, futuristic outerwear features heavily. The Tompinks Short Down Jacket and Chelsea Down Gilet are crafted from a sleek glossy nylon and daubed with green and black to tap into the city’s subway colourway, while The Soho Hooded Jacket captures NYC’s effervescence with the hues of the moment: optimistic purple and mood-boosting tomato red.

Elsewhere, hoodies, tees and tank tops are printed with graffiti reading ​“Where Dreams are Made of” and a sketch of the Statue of Liberty. There’s statement denim too, because, you know, New York: it’s seen on baggy bleached jeans that drape onto fully recycled rain boots, ready to make a splash on the sidewalk.

The coolest bit? The collection’s cosmic, glittering pieces. A shimmering silver is applied to the Tribeca Parka Coat, Flatbrush Windbreaker and matching Metallic-Effect Pants while the Black Crystal Crop Top, the most opulent item in the collection, encrusts a lycra tank with chatoyant gemstones.

Of course the real star of the whole thing, though, is Keys herself, perched on a swing above the city in campaign imagery shot by Laura Jane Coulson and Ibrahem Hasan. She’s clearly not just a writer, singer, performer and poet but a designer, too: the collection might be easygoing, but it sure isn’t effortless. Using Moncler’s needle-moving attitude to restitch New York’s urban fabric, she’s created a fully-fledged collection that overshoots the city’s skyscrapers, landing in the stars.