Formichetti previously founded youthful luxury streetwear brand Formy, known for dark palettes and its association with rappers like Young Thug and Travis Scott. But he decided to close the brand in 2022. Unlike PDF, Formy consisted of more basic streetwear pieces, focused on logos. “My first brand was an important part of my journey, but I felt like I had outgrown it creatively,” he explains. “Closing it gave me the opportunity to start fresh with PDF and create something that felt more aligned with where I am now.”
All of PDF’s garments are developed in a village called Marotta, close to Formichetti’s hometown. “That’s where the central part of the company is,” he says. “It worked out well because most of the clothing factories in Italy are in Abruzzo, and I know the area so well.”
Focusing on the clothes
Last June, during Milan Men’s Week, PDF staged an off-schedule show-cum-music festival in the city’s Ex Macello community centre. There were a handful of looks (modelled by the likes of actor Arón Piper and NFL running back Alvin Kamara) and performances from Italian rappers Capo Plaza, Tedua and Tony Effe (naturally all wearing PDF). Despite 2,000 people showing up, Formichetti wasn’t happy with the outcome.
“Oh my god, it was crazy,” he says. “I had to [coordinate] all the rappers myself because I didn’t have a production team. And I wasn’t that happy when I finished. It was big, people really liked it, but the attention was more on the event than on the collection.”
This season, Formichetti is “focused on the clothes”, staging a more traditional runway show and a much bigger collection, with new styles of painted denim, outerwear and accessories. It is inspired by ’90s and noughties hip-hop culture and the “energy of the streets during that time”, he says. “I was watching a lot of music videos and films like Baby Boy, Menace II Society, Paid in Full and Boyz n the Hood while designing.”
