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"I've always seen the American market as an outsider, but I've been fascinated by US culture, hip-hop culture — it's something that I felt very connected with, and of course this has influenced the brand." – Francesco Ragazzi, the founder of Palm Angels, who previously was the creative director at Moncler.
Francesco Ragazzi established Palm Angels in 2015 and published a photo book featuring skaters from Venice Beach, California. Unusual for a fashion brand, Ragazzi used the book to contextualise his fashion production before the clothing release itself, almost as if it were a manifesto for what was to come.
Ragazzi, who up until 2019 was in charge of Moncler's creative revolution and repositioning, sees clothing as closely related to the images he conjures up around them. His preference for images of American origin is unmistakable, with his aesthetic being firmly rooted in the voyeuristic fascination that Europeans have with the US.
According to Ragazzi, Palm Angels began as "an evolution of the book," but it quickly developed into a stand-alone project and one of the most influential streetwear brands of the present. Rappers, skateboarders, designers, and other creatives all gravitate around the core elements of today's youth culture, and the brand has become a point of reference for this community on a global scale. If this neighbourhood served as the source of inspiration for Ragazzi's brand, now its residents serve as his clients. "I sensed the brand was on the rise when I dressed ASAP Rocky. And Pharrell, of course, who has always been a style example for me,” Ragazzi, when asked if he’s ever had a eureka moment in the making of Palm Angels. “I see mothers dressed in Palm Angels when I drop my daughter off to school! There’s such a big spectrum of customers, which is super important for me.”
Ragazzi got his start at Moncler, where he reinvented the brand's positioning and approached collaborations and image-making from new angles. When I was 21 years old, I began in 2006 with an internship in the press department. It was a good place to start, but I felt very far from where I wanted to be professionally," he says. "At that point, my abilities in the visual and creative realm manifested themselves because I could see that the brand had enormous growth potential. I had the chance to work on the brand's imagery and identity, and eventually I was promoted to artistic director.
After a 12-year relationship, Ragazzi returned to Moncler as a guest designer for the Moncler Genius collaborative collection, where his name was listed alongside some of the most well-known designers in the industry, including Pierpaolo Piccioli, Hiroshi Fujiwara, and Rick Owens.
