A Look At The Santa Fe-Inspired 8 Moncler Palm Angels Collaboration

Slouching towards Malibu, Milan-born art director and photographer Francesco Ragazzi left his post as Moncler creative director in 2014 to work out a vision that emerged as Palm Angels. Initially a photographic documentation of Los Angeles skater culture, Palm Angels has evolved into a full-fledged apparel brand that merges high-quality Italian tailoring with California streetwear and has hypebeasts and fashion heads equally drooling. This past October, Ragazzi returned to Milan to unveil a second Palm Angels collaboration with Moncler, which takes inspiration not from the streets of Southern California, but the desert landscape of Santa Fe. “Being able to collaborate with [Moncler] for the second time is a great accomplishment for me,” Ragazzi tells W of this happy reunion. “It’s like giving back a little part of what they taught me during the years I worked there.”

15 years ago, Ragazzi actually joined Moncler as an intern, eventually working his way up to the position of full-time creative director. Under Ragazzi’s discerning visual eye, the global brand experienced a reawakening. Fast forward to now, Ragazzi’s 8 Moncler Palm Angels collaboration is just one of the many creations to come out of MONDOGENIUS — an immersive digital experience exploring Moncler’s culture, spanning five cities and creative visions from 11 different designers.

Paying homage to Americana style and vintage culture, 8 Moncler Palm Angels is an embodiment of the westward yearning that initially struck Ragazzi in 2014. This time, however, he invokes the wild West, taking cues from classic outlaw style and the practical reworking of materials and goods essential to life on the range. Think cowboy hats, bolo ties, and layers built to withstand anything from the dry desert wind to a ski day in the Alps. Striking tropical patterns also make an appearance, which feel like a wink at Palm Angels’s California core. “I love looking back to the past and finding a way to bring ‘old’ items into the present with a new life,” Ragazzi says. “The collection is a mix of themes and worlds, and this is exactly what I wanted to represent with this new Moncler Palm Angels collection.”