Jean-Charles de Castelbajac is a creative with rare range. Over his decades of design, he has brought his distinctive mix of art and symbolism to brands including Iceberg (which he co-founded), Max Mara, and United Colors of Benetton. His work has spanned from designing vestments for Pope John Paul II to collaborating with artists like Keith Haring. Now, in his third collaboration with Palace, he channels that same creative spirit into a collection shaped by collage, spontaneity, and street-level energy.
We speak over video call—me at the i-D London HQ, him in his Paris studio, surrounded by bursts of color. De Castelbajac appears on screen like a beam of sunshine. “Hello! Hi! Finally, I can see you!” he says, grinning. Just hours earlier, he was walking the runway at Paris Men’s Fashion Week for 3.PARADIS. “They asked me to play the bad guyIn a huge trench coat. Very cool,” he says.
Still, the real excitement comes when we start talking about the Palace capsule. He doesn’t hesitate. “It’s the best one,” he says. “It’s total happiness. Palace and I speak the same visual language. The skate culture, the energy, and the volume in the silhouettes. It connects to my origins in streetwear. It reminds me of what I was doing at Iceberg in the ’80s.”
This time, though, he goes deeper. “The first two collections were more like sketches. Color, drawing, little pieces of my style. But this one is fully connected to my art. To collage. To freedom.” Behind him, his studio wall is covered in layers of paper, shapes, and symbols. He points to one. “I stopped using my left hand to draw. Now, I use scissors in my right hand, a hand I never used before. It’s instinctive. It’s raw. I feel completely free.”
That freedom is central to the collection, which translates de Castelbajac’s collage practice into a material language. A wool varsity jacket features multicolor felt appliqués. T-shirts remix the Palace Triferg into something almost esoteric. A checkerboard knit sweater, raw-edged denim, and oversized trousers carry spontaneous cut-outs and surreal forms. “I didn’t want it to look decorative,” he says. “I wanted meaning. Eyes, for curiosity. Doves, for peace. Primary color, but only where it matters. The rest is black and white, like a page waiting for ideas.”
While working, de Castelbajac listens to Baxter Dury, Idles, and Fontaines D.C. “I like their attitude. It’s punk, but it’s about now. It keeps me focused. Keeps me honest.” And working with a British brand like Palace feels natural to him. “Honestly, it’s easier for me than working in France,” he says. “I’ve always been a bit of an outsider in my own country. But with Palace, I feel like part of a gang. I love the community. I love being part of a movement. I’m not a lone rider.”
I ask what he hopes people feel when they wear the collection. “Power,” de Castelbajac says. “These are not clothes for followers. They’re for leaders. For people who dare. That’s the message.”