Italian designer behind Palm Angels, Francesco Ragazzi, bridges gap between luxury and streetwear

After working for more than a decade as one of the masterminds behind the successful lifestyle brand Moncler – where he is still artistic director – designer and photographer Francesco Ragazzi is now focusing his attention on his skate-inspired label Palm Angels, which he founded in 2015.

While Palm Angels is based in Milan, the streetwear label is a far cry from a typical Milanese brand. Ragazzi, who lives between Los Angeles and Milan, conceived Palm Angels after releasing a photography book of the same title in 2014. The book was a celebration of Los Angeles’ young skateboarders, reinterpreted through Ragazzi’s own vision, by “taking a culture that was perceived as quite basic and elevating it”.

Ragazzi is in Hong Kong to present his collaboration with online retailer HBX, a spin-off of media company Hypebeast and a Mecca for collectors of sneakers around the world. “Palm Angels really reflects my background between America and Italy,” says Ragazzi. “It’s my vision of American culture, so that’s why it’s not the stereotypical Italian brand or the typical American brand. I always try to reinterpret American culture in my own way.”

A favourite of hip-hop artists and NBA players, Palm Angels has developed a foothold in the industry in only a matter of seasons: tracksuits in lurid hues such as orange and purple, logo-printed hoodies, and cannabis iconography are the brand’s key signatures, appealing to a young audience of aficionados who don’t see much of a difference between luxury and streetwear.

Ragazzi agrees that the line between these previously two separate worlds no longer exists. He was one of the pioneering agents of this change, starting from his early days at Moncler, where he was working with hip-hop stars, such as Pharrell, long before they started to be embraced by Parisian brands like Chanel.