MILAN — Palm Angels’ founder and artistic director Francesco Ragazzi is a consummate photographer. All through his life — cut up between Milan and Palm Seaside, Fla., as he was rising up after which marked by frequent worldwide travels — he’s targeted on a recurrent topic: the palm tree.
On Saturday the model is to participate in Milan Style Week to unveil a images exhibition marking the launch of a brand new e book, “Decoding Palm Tradition,” printed by Rizzoli New York 10 years after Ragazzi’s first tome got here out in 2014.
The latter triggered the launch of the Palm Angels trend home, established a yr later and marking its tenth anniversary in 2025. That e book, merely titled “Palm Angels” with foreword by Pharrell Williams, featured Ragazzi’s dreamlike photos of the sun-saturated Los Angeles skate scene, an enormous visible and aesthetic supply of inspiration for the style model.
“I’ve at all times been a passionate photographer, a apply I had sort of deserted in the newest years. I saved taking pictures issues however didn’t have a exact mission whereas I had been eager to discover my essence and Palm Angels’ essence for some time,” Ragazzi mentioned in a telephone interview on the eve of the exhibition opening.
“I’d be jealous if another person had completed a e book like this earlier than me,” he added.
Pictures within the new Palm Angels e book “Decoding Palm Tradition” printed by Rizzoli New York.
Courtesy of Palm Angels
The e book is stuffed with 50 unreleased photos of palm timber shot by Ragazzi over time in several areas, from Palm Seaside and Los Angeles to Asia and Marrakech. Curated by Stefano Tonchi with written remarks by essayist Luca Scarlini, thinker Emanuele Coccia and creator Giovanni Aloi, the e book is geared toward decoding the cultural, emotional, inventive and historic resonance of the palm tree.
“I believe that the fascination with palm timber is triggered by their unique character, nevertheless it additionally has to do with their inherent symbolism [linked with] shelter, resistance and an vacation vibes….I believe the palm tree speaks to everyone, each can attribute their very own that means however most significantly I believe it suggests the emotion of escapism,” Ragazzi mentioned.
The exhibition will show large- and small-size codecs of images within the e book as prints, plexiglass impressions, or reproduced on silver foil.
“Pictures right now is faster and extra filtered, it turns into both extra easy or elaborate. I don’t suppose pure images, the byproduct of taking pictures on movie digital camera, exists anymore,” Ragazzi mentioned. Sooner or later he had launched an Instagram profile known as The Palm Day by day gathering his many pictures of palm timber world wide.
Pictures within the new Palm Angels e book “Decoding Palm Tradition” printed by Rizzoli New York.
Courtesy of Palm Angels
Seen as an activation to collect its neighborhood across the model’s key codes, the exhibition and e book are geared toward conveying “a message of readability, which was the place to begin for the model to return to life,” Ragazzi defined.
The exhibition opening will probably be adopted by a celebration that includes DJs units from Chloé Caillet, Prospa and Simone de Kunovich.
Palm Angels has been sitting out trend weeks in current seasons after internet hosting one-off reveals after they felt related to the model’s message. The final present was held in Paris for fall 2023 in March final yr.
Palm Angels e book “Decoding Palm Tradition” is printed by Rizzoli New York.
Courtesy of Palm Angels
“I ponder lots about when the model ought to converse and I believe that in such a confused second for trend, I don’t suppose [a show] can be obligatory,” Ragazzi mentioned. “Product is paramount however on this second, I believe it’s essential to speak to the intestine [of people] and inject extra creativity,” the Palm Angels founder mentioned.
