Inspired by American street culture, Palm Angels stands out with its contemporary collections that perfectly blend luxury and streetwear.
Who is Francesco Ragazzi?
Francesco Ragazzi is an Italian fashion designer and photographer who founded the fashion label Palm Angels in 2015. His unique vision and love for skateboarding culture have inspired the brand’s collections and collaborations with high-profile designers and artists, making Palm Angels one of the most sought-after brands in the fashion world today. Inspired by American street culture, Palm Angels stands out with its perfect blend of luxury and streetwear. What started as a photographic documentation of Los Angeles’ skater culture transformed into luxury streetwear fashion label Palm Angels, elevated with the finest Italian craftsmanship. The brand has quickly gained popularity in the fashion world for its unique take on streetwear and high-end fashion. We will take a closer look at the history of Palm Angels and how it has become one of the most sought-after brands today.
Ragazzi’s early career
Before Palm Angels, Ragazzi was the creative director behind legendary French outerwear brand Moncler for 10 years. It’s a connection that’s led to white-hot collaborations between the two coveted brands in recent years. Ragazzi started taking photographs of skateboarders in Los Angeles in the early 2000s, and these photos would later become the inspiration for his own fashion label. Ragazzi’s photography was heavily influenced by the skateboarding culture, and he used this inspiration to create a brand that was a mix of high-end fashion and streetwear.
The birth of Palm Angels
In 2015, Ragazzi launched Palm Angels with the help of New Guards Group, an Italian fashion company. The brand’s name was inspired by the palm trees that line the streets of Los Angeles, where Ragazzi had spent a lot of time photographing skateboarders. The first collection featured a range of streetwear staples, including graphic t-shirts, hoodies, and track pants. Without a doubt, the beginning of the brand was the most difficult moment, the most challenging. Palm Angels was unknown. Ragazzi had presented his photo book in Milan a year before the launch of the brand. He had the idea of building a brand, he just didn’t have a definite plan on how to do it and in what way. But he knew that the project he had in mind was authentic and he never gave up, even though he had to overcome great difficulties. He lived with the dream of creating a brand where he could express himself, where people like him could recognize him. But Ragazzi was not just a dreamer. He was a hard worker too. He built the brand little by little and eventually his perseverance paid off. He was also lucky to meet the right people who believed in him at the time.
Style and street culture
Photographer and designer Francesco Ragazzi published a coveted coffee table tome in 2014 featuring black-and-white photography of the elite communities who defined the skateboarding scene from sun-drenched Venice Beach to Manhattan Beach. Like the book’s subject matter—style and street culture—the label he launched in 2015 revels in the modern interpretation of classics like hooded sweatshirts, tracksuits, denim, and accessories. Effortlessly straddling the insouciant Cali flair with the elegant sartorial codes of his Italian background, Ragazzi achieves one of the most irresistible and tantalising qualities in off-duty apparel. It’s an Italian take on American culture and subcultures, merging an appreciation for sartorial codes and a joy for fabric.
Nostalgic cool
The Palm Angels style playbook is unequivocally cool owing to its LA origins and is beloved by the style cognoscenti, gilded musicians and rappers such as Justin Bieber, Migos’ Quavo and A$AP Rocky. Its unmatched approach to West Coast nostalgia has resulted in fan favourites like tracksuit pants in supple jersey with side stripes; distressed denim with bold accents, and 90s-inspired bowling shirts and cargo shorts alongside an equally impressive accessories line that consists of covetable pool slides and logoed trainers in vulcanised rubber. The heavily romanticised vision resists looking dated and excels as a modern proposition thanks to Ragazzi’s deft hand.
The success of Palm Angels
Palm Angels quickly gained popularity in the fashion world, thanks in part to the brand’s unique take on streetwear. Ragazzi’s use of bold graphics and unexpected materials, like silk and leather, set Palm Angels apart from other streetwear brands. The brand also collaborated with a number of high-profile designers and artists, including Moncler and Hiroshi Fujiwara. In 2017, Palm Angels debuted its first runway show at Milan Fashion Week. The show featured a mix of streetwear and high-end fashion, with models walking down the runway in oversized hoodies, leather jackets, and printed pants. The collection was a hit, and Palm Angels became one of the most talked-about brands of the season.
Palm Angels is part of the New Guards Group and has collaborated with brands such as Moncler Genius, Playboi Carti, BBC Ice Cream, Under Armour & Clarks. The book, published by Rizzoli, features a collection of black and white photographs of the L.A. skateboarding scene, shot by Ragazzi and an introduction written by Pharrell Williams. The launch took place in Paris at the former concept store named Colette. This led to the creations of a brand where the fascination for American culture merges with the Italian perspective, inspiring collections of the brand. The release of the book in 2014 kicked off the first ready-to-wear collection (Fall-Winter 2015), with a Spring-Summer and a Fall-Winter collection subsequently released every year. In 2017, Palm Angels created a series of collaborations with brands such as Suicoke and Sundek. In 2018, Palm Angels later teamed up with American brand, Vlone to design a small capsule of hoodies and also with Playboi Carti for a limited-edition capsule collection composed of tracksuits, t-shirts, a hoodie, and a denim jacket each emblazoned with a logo that reads “Palm Angels Die Punk”.
Soon after, Palm Angels launched its collaboration with BBC Ice Cream at The Webster NY and its first collaboration in the world of hotellerie with Setai Miami during Art Basel 2019. More recently, Palm Angels presented its Fall Winter 2020 collection in New York, unveiling the Palm Angles x C. & Clarks collaboration. Palm Angels partnered with Haas F1 Team for the 2023 season, contributing to the design of the team’s garages and race suits, as well as featuring their branding on the sides of their car’s liveries.Today, Palm Angels continues to be one of the most sought-after brands in the fashion world. The brand has expanded its offerings to include accessories, footwear, and even home decor. Ragazzi’s unique vision and love of skateboarding culture continue to inspire the brand’s collections, and Palm Angels is sure to be a major player in the fashion world for years to come.
Eyewear
The first eyewear collection from Palm Angels has captured the world’s attention with the launch of just two frames on May 27, 2021. In fact, with the launch, the brand celebrates the opening of a new business unit in New Guards that will develop and manufacture all its eyewear in-house, without any license. The first eyewear designed and produced by Palm Angels directly corresponds to the brand’s codes, born from an innate dialog with the ready-to-wear collection and a natural evolution of its continuous expansion. The rigid geometric shapes of the acetate frames collide with the bold and visible metallic Palm Angels logo to mark the brand’s debut in the eyewear panorama. The collection offered two unisex styles, “Palm” and “Angel” in different colors. To launch this new eyewear division, Palm Angels commissioned David Sims to create a video and photo campaign to launch the new eyewear on its website and in select boutiques and opticians worldwide. Palm Angels has received critical acclaim since its first eyewear launch, most recently launching its Spring/Summer 2024 eyewear pre-collection, Freedom tout Court. Inspired by the Californian sun, Palm Angels’ newest eyewear collection Freedom tout Court is a very accurate intertwining of streetwear and tailoring with references to both the Western and vintage worlds. The new collection captures the essence of individuality with unique pieces and meticulous details, paving a clean and fresh path for the brand’s future collections.
Chronology
2011: The label first began as a Rizzoli photography book that documented the Los Angeles skate scene, showcasing black and white pictures that Ragazzi took in 2011 when he lived on the West Coast.
2014: The release of the photographic book about the Los Angeles skateboarding scene
2015: Francesco Ragazzi has founded his brand and launched his first ready to wear collection for the Fall/Winter 2015 season.
2017: Palm Angels created a series of collaborations with brands such as Suicoke and Sundek. Palm Angels debuted its first runway show at Milan Fashion Week.
2018: Palm Angels later teamed up with American brand, Vlone to design a small capsule of hoodies and also with Playboi Carti for a limited-edition capsule collection composed of tracksuits, t-shirts, a hoodie, and a denim jacket each emblazoned with a logo that reads “Palm Angels Die Punk”.
2019: Palm Angels’ first collaboration in the world of hotellerie with Setai Miami during Art Basel.
2020: Palm Angels presented its Fall/Winter 2020 collection in New York, unveiling the Palm Angles x C. & Clarks collaboration.
2021: Palm Angels’ first eyewear collection were debuted.
2022: 8 Moncler Palm Angels collection launched. Stars Naomi Campbell in its campaign.
2023: Palm Angels partnered with Haas F1 Team for the 2023 season, contributing to the design of the team’s garages and race suits.
2024: Palm Angels launched Spring/Summer 2024 eyewear pre-collection, which named as Freedom tout Court.
March 2024
