The designer goes deep on his new collab with Italian outerwear specialists Moncler
For Francesco Ragazzi, the creative director of Palm Angels, fashion is far more than its fabrics. It’s as much about amusement as it is about its muses or models; something that’s designed to entertain. “It’s a reflection of how fashion is changing,” he says. “In the beginning, it was about the designer but now it’s a mixture of the designer and entertainment.”
Ragazzi is reflecting not just on the industry as a whole, but more particularly on the evolution of Moncler Genius, the collaborative project unveiled by the luxury fashion house back in 2018 at Milan Fashion Week. Since then, Genius has become one of Moncler’s most coveted offerings, featuring link-ups with the likes of JW Anderson, Craig Green and Rick Owens, plus interactive [and often wildly hyperactive] IRL activations.
This year, the project snowballed further, spreading into all paradigms of culture. February saw Moncler host the Art of Genius event to showcase the Genius 2023 collections: a live show that you’d have to have been living under an alpine boulder to have missed.
Less of a launch and more of an all-out avalanche, it saw thousands of fans head to Olympia for a mixture of sport, music, dance, art and – yes – entertainment, featuring performances from a new coterie of collaborators including Pharrell Williams, Mercedes-Benz, and Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Also part of the show was Ragazzi’s brand Palm Angels, the half-Italia, half-LA streetwear brand beloved by high-end streetwear aficionados; hosting a fuck-off big foam party with Boiler Room.
“It was about being entertaining,” Ragazzi reiterates. “I think Moncler saw this event as like a [fun]fair, so our goal was to be very interesting and user friendly so people could explore the world of Palm Angels and Moncler,” he says. Palm Angels’ new pieces were part of the party, rather than the other way around. “The collection was not the main focus but it was more about the essence of the collaboration,” he explains. It’s far from Ragazzi’s first rodeo when it comes to Moncler; aside from collaborating with Genius several times over already, he climbed his way up from intern to the apex of the fashion house, working as its artistic director for five years.
Being simultaneously on the outside but still part of the fold increases his inspiration. “You have your own way of telling the story with your vision now rather than just applying the one of Moncler, so it’s definitely very exciting for me,” he says. “You can develop the dream project you weren’t able to,” he continues, referencing a LED jacket Palm Angels and Moncler released last year.
This time round, the collaborative collection riffs off Americana and vintage’s transformation from a categorisation of age to a standalone aesthetic. Gender-neutral and imbued with a sense of youthful, head-out-the-car-window freedom, the ensemble stitches together pepped-up preppiness [rugby shirts, cricket jumpers] and thrift store easiness [camo pants, fit-your-friend-in-too jeans].
“This collection was all about starting with wardrobe classics and staples in the American post-preppy wardrobe [and altering them],” Ragazzi explains, citing a cable knit sweater that’s been turned into a technical down jacket and photographic print shorts that have the illusion of being patchwork. This desire for transformation precipitates experimentation. “How do I make a down jacket that’s a rugby shirt? Or how do I make an army parka that feels like a safari kind of thing? It’s taking those staples and changing the theatre,” he says.
Everything is generously proportioned, reflecting Ragazzi’s laid-back vibe. “It’s part of my journey as a human. I grew up between Italy and the States, so it’s about representing that culture through my Italian eyes… The exaggerated volume gives the post-preppy attitude that I want, I don’t want it to be too perfect.” Relaxation is, after all, now one of the ultimate luxuries in our current turbulent, topsy-turvy times. “It’s part of our life, the way we live,” he adds. “This laid-back culture is part of our DNA that is represented by comfort clothes and baggier silhouettes.”
“I think Moncler saw this event as like a [fun]fair, so our goal was to be very interesting and user friendly so people could explore the world of Palm Angels and Moncler” – Francesco Ragazzi
It’s clear that from his years of working with Moncler, Ragazzi has got the fashion house’s codes down to an exact science; but his interest in creating a spectacle is resulting in something even stronger. Before he dashes off, I ask him: will you ever throw another foam party?
He laughs. “It was really difficult to have this accepted because it was like, ‘Why are you doing a foam party at a fashion event?’ But it was something different. It was very well received. It’s about freedom,” he says. So: it’s not a no.
