Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
June 23, 2025

Palm Angels has a new management team, a fresh start that the label celebrated by staging a lively event in Milan on Sunday evening, with Milan Fashion Week Men in full swing. It was the opportunity for the Italian high-end streetwear label’s new senior executive team to introduce themselves: Managing Director Luca Donnini, a fashion industry veteran, and Creative Director Alberto Furlan, who worked for eight years with Palm Angels founder Francesco Ragazzi.

The latter retired earlier this year to focus on a new project, while the label he founded in 2015, owned by New Guards Group (NGG), itself controlled by fashion e-tailer Farfetch, was sold to Bluestar Alliance, a New York-based brand management company that also acquired Off-White.

Bluestar Alliance is keen to play the continuity card, both in terms of style and personnel, while making Palm Angels evolve and grow. The new owner retained part of the workforce, which was added to and installed in new premises and showroom in via Verri, in Milan’s Brera district.

Donnini has a 40-year track record in luxury and fashion. He notably worked for 20 years at Italian group Max Mara, holding senior positions in the export, wholesale and retail departments, before joining Guess as head of the US label’s European subsidiary, a post he held between 2009 and 2012. Among his other career milestones, in 2019 he took charge of British luxury brand Temperley London.

Donnini has joined Palm Angels in his capacity as co-CEO of SportLux, an international company managing the operations of several licensed brands (including Off-White), with which Bluestar Alliance has signed an agreement for Palm Angels’s production and worldwide distribution.

Donnini’s mission is to boost the retail expansion of Palm Angels, which currently operates 10 monobrand stores, via new openings planned in the coming months in Dubai, Mumbai, Athens and New York. Also, to explore new markets like South America, and to extend Palm Angels’ presence in online and omnichannel distribution.

Furlan, 33, is very familiar with Palm Angels. He has been at the label since 2017, working alongside Ragazzi, as he previously did at Moncler, and becoming his right-hand man. He immediately set about redesigning the label’s logo, a stylised palm tree whose trunk is composed of the letters of its name.

“When we started, there were five of us. Now we’re 35. Some preferred to leave after the acquisition, new team members have been hired, but everyone from the design, product development and marketing offices stayed on. For me, it’s very important to preserve the label’s DNA,” Furlan told FashionNetwork.com.

Palm Angels's looks are inspired by streetwear and the world of Californian skaters, with the addition of Italian couture details. The label has elevated its positioning in recent years, towards the market's upper end. “Palm Angels will remain a luxury label. We will continue to work with our Italian, Turkish, and Portuguese suppliers, and others chiefly based in Europe. But we’re going to bring our prices down a little, because the market is asking for this,” said Furlan.

The collections, so far big on logos and geometric motifs, will be gradually characterised by greater sophistication and simplicity, adopting a more minimalist design style while preserving Palm Angels’ identity, wearability and fine materials, concluded Furlan.