Palm Angels

It depends on what you want from it. Palm Angels sits at the luxury end of streetwear, so you are paying for an Italian house name and a strong logo as much as for the garment. If a track jacket or graphic hoodie with that surf-and-skate energy speaks to you and you will actually wear it often, the pieces tend to feel substantial and hold up well. If you simply want a heavy cotton hoodie, the value case is harder to make.

The label positions itself as an Italian luxury fashion label, not a basics brand, so the price reflects designer-house overhead, a recognisable name, and the cultural cachet of the logo. Founder Francesco Ragazzi built the brand around an outsider's romance with American skate culture, and that point of view is part of what you are buying. The exclusivity and the look carry a premium on top of the materials themselves.

The two are siblings of a sort: both came up as luxury streetwear and both sit under the New Guards Group umbrella. Off-White, founded by Virgil Abloh, leaned conceptual and industrial with its quotation marks and zip ties, while Palm Angels trades on a warmer Los Angeles skate-and-surf mood dreamed up by an Italian eye. If you want graphic-led, lifestyle streetwear, Palm Angels; if you want deconstructed, ironic luxury, Off-White.

A track jacket or a logo-front hoodie is the most recognisable entry point and the easiest to style with denim or joggers. These carry the brand's signature look and tend to be the pieces people reach for again and again. If you prefer something quieter, a tee lets you test the fit and feel before committing to a statement outerwear piece.

Buy from the brand's own channels or established luxury retailers and department stores that carry New Guards Group labels, where authenticity is not in question. The streetwear market has plenty of replicas, so be wary of unusually cheap listings. On the resale side, stick to platforms with rigorous authentication if you go pre-owned.

Look closely at the branding execution and construction, since counterfeits usually slip on the small things. Check that logo placement, lettering, and stitching are crisp and even, that the print or embroidery is clean, and that interior labels and tags match what the official store shows. If the price seems too good to be true, it almost always is.

Palm Angels was founded in 2015 by Italian fashion designer and photographer Francesco Ragazzi, who is also the former artistic director of Moncler. He continues to steer the brand's creative direction. His background as a photographer is woven into the brand's origin story.

The brand grew out of a photography book Ragazzi shot of the Los Angeles skateboarding scene, published by Rizzoli with an introduction by Pharrell Williams and launched in Paris at the former concept store Colette. That project, released in 2014, kicked off the first ready-to-wear collection for Fall-Winter 2015. The result is a look where an Italian sensibility meets a fascination with American skate culture.

It blends Italian tailoring instincts with a Los Angeles skate-and-surf imagination, producing deconstructed, comfortable shapes finished with unexpected sartorial details. Think relaxed silhouettes, bold graphics, and palm-tree and logo motifs that nod to its California origins. It is streetwear seen through an Italian luxury lens.

The brand has been prolific with partnerships, working with names like Moncler Genius, Playboi Carti, BBC Ice Cream, Under Armour, and Clarks. The 2018 Playboi Carti capsule, emblazoned with a "Palm Angels Die Punk" logo, leaned hard into the brand's rebellious streak. In 2023 it even partnered with the Haas F1 Team, designing race suits and contributing branding to the car's livery.

It depends on the piece. Sought-after collaboration items and signature track jackets and graphic outerwear tend to retain interest best, especially in good condition with the original tags. As a rule, limited and recognisable pieces resell more readily than seasonal basics. If resale matters to you, buy the items people actually recognise.