Comedienne Lee Su-ji once, U.S. President Donald Trump another time. The Italian luxury brand Moncler, known as 'Gangnam mom school uniform,' has faced consecutive hits.
Moncler announced on the 24th (local time) that it raised prices to reflect the expense of tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration.
According to U.S. broadcaster CNBC, Moncler stated in its quarterly earnings report that it raised prices by 'mid-single digits percentage' in the second half of 2025 to offset the initial impact from tariffs. It will also increase prices in the first half of next year. However, the company noted that it is waiting for the clarity of additional tariffs in the U.S. before establishing its annual pricing strategy for 2026.
Moncler became a hot topic after Lee Su-ji appeared wearing one of its products, 'Parnaiba,' in a video parodying 'Daechi-dong moms' last February. At that time, it was highlighted as a symbolic item satirizing parents overly focused on children's education in Daechi-dong. The 'Parnaiba' product worn by Lee Su-ji was priced around 3.9 million won in the market.
As the premium padding priced at several million won emerged as a sort of meme, the phenomenon of reselling it also occurred. After the video was released, the number of new women's outerwear products registered under the Moncler keyword on the second-hand trading platform Bunjang increased by 586% compared to the previous week. The number of transactions for Moncler women's outerwear also surged by 965% during the same period.
Moncler was evaluated as a brand often seen in the Gangnam area, to the extent that it was said to be 'distributed at the Seocho-gu Community Center' even before Lee Su-ji's parody. Moncler, established in 1933, is a brand known for its down jackets and is sometimes referred to as 'Moncler' in Korea.
Lee Su-ji shared a story related to Moncler while appearing on the MBC variety show 'Omniscient Interfering View' aired on the 5th. When fellow broadcaster Lee Young-ja asked, 'Rumor has it that you borrowed from a Moncler official. Is it true?', Lee Su-ji replied, 'I met a Moncler official at GD's album listening party. They introduced me as a Moncler official, and I panicked and said, 'I'm so sorry' and knelt down, but they knelt down with me. In fact, they seemed to enjoy it and wanted to do the event together.' Lee Young-ja responded, 'It's just a joke. Don't misunderstand. Su-ji is the best.'
Moncler's second-quarter sales this year recorded 397 million euros (about 640 billion won), a 1% decrease from the same period last year. In major markets, sales in the U.S. increased by 5%. Sales in Asia showed stagnation, with Japan experiencing a decline due to the weakening yen. Sales in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa decreased by 8% due to poor tourism.