PDF, the new brand of Domenico Formichetti between innovation, sportswear and cool kid

One of the names that has marked the growth and success of the streetwear scene in Italy - and beyond - is that of Domenico Formichetti, graphic designer, stylist, founder of the eponymous brand Formy Studio and creator who has always gone far beyond clothes went out. Born in Abruzzo in 1993, Domenico's passion for fashion came to life upon his arrival in Milan. He breathed the metropolitan air so different from the soothing landscapes of Chieti, the streets, the clubs and the nightlife, even the desks of the Brera Academy where he studied graphic design, all contributing to his personal and artistic development contributed. «My character tends to be a little talker and a lot observer, collecting clues, shapes and ideas and then presenting them in a new vision» he explains. It is the expressive urgency that drives him to his first project, Fomo (Fear Of Missing Out), followed by the Hot Stuff sneaker collection and finally Formy Studio, the brand that has defined the wardrobes of the international rap panorama conquered : Swae Lee, J Balvin and Tyga, Sfera, Dark Polo Gang and many others. During his travels between France and Japan, new experiences, new styles, new encounters enriched him and laid the foundations of that natural human and professional development that today takes shape in a more mature project: PDF.

«Each phase has its own story. I have always experimented with great curiosity in music, graphics, art and fashion, choosing and rethinking objects and garments to bring something new to life. This approach is summed up in the concept of PDF, IF IT ALREADY EXISTS IT IS NOT NECESSARY.» Formichetti takes the freshness and allure of urbanwear translates it in a more mature tone, exploring fabrics and garment constructions that reach new levels of sophistication. Stonewashing, laser finishing, bleaching: between innovative and traditional techniques, materials come to life in a research that meets functionality and design. The keyword in each area is innovation: «I always start with what I want and what I can not find . Everything I do is missing from the market and what I do is missing.» The garments play with proportions, taking them to extremes, achieving that casual, distressed, effortless look reminiscent of the cool kids of Los Angeles, in a play of contrasts between skinny and over, vintage airs and absolute novelty that transcends the boundaries of streetwear and becomes something different: «It's about having the courage to express your aesthetic in relation to what what does not exist.» In any case, sportswear remains a strong grip, especially the materials and volumes that allow you to move in the mountains, where the climate becomes extreme and Domenico has the opportunity to express himself through sport: «I have been snowboarding since I was 17 am and extreme sports are my passion, just like wakeboarding. I see pieces that I wear in the mountains that I really like and I want to wear them in the city. I skied when I was young and when I went back to my town (because it was a 20 minute drive) I was still wearing my boots, my trousers and all those baggy clothes that I could not find anywhere in town. I am trying to bring the style of extreme sports to the streets.»

But PDF is not just clothes, it is also and above all a community, a container of different influences - from music to graphics to art - that end up in one big "Common room" in which cooperation and unexpected encounters come to life. «I have many cool kids with me. I am starting now, even if I have always thought about it, but I have never managed to do what I really wanted to. Whether models, videographers, DJs, I create a community, my community, give young people opportunities. I break the mould of fashion. It no longer matters what you have done in the past, what you studied, where you graduated from, what your past experiences are. There are thousands of people doing extraordinary things that go unnoticed. You just have to find them, and that's part of my PDF mission.»