Kyle Lindgren, the creative director of the DIY-influenced Los Angeles fashion brand Paly, considers the brand’s upcoming collaboration with the Rolling Stones to be its first “official” collab.
Previously, Paly had released collections using imagery from established artists, like its viral hats invoking imagery of James Dean. But Lindgren said those collaborations weren’t quite official. They were more “better to ask forgiveness than permission” situations that ended up working out.
But the Rolling Stones collab involved actually working closely with Universal Music Group, the legendary British rock band’s record label, and getting mountains of Rolling Stones posters, photographs, concert tickets and other ephemera to work with. From there, Lindgren and co-founder James Franco pieced together a collection combining decades of Rolling Stones imagery with Paly’s trademark distressed and vintage-inspired designs. For Paly, the collaboration is a big step; it’s its first official collaboration, its largest collaboration in terms of volume of product produced and its first exclusive with a retail partner.
The collection, which will be launched exclusively through Paly’s wholesale partners before reaching its direct channels, underscores the continued importance of wholesale accounts for emerging brands. Only three years into its existence, Paly has grown thanks in part to support from retail partners like Selfridges, which helped establish a connection between Paly and the Rolling Stones.
The collection was released on April 4 with an early exclusive window at the Los Angeles retailer H. Lorenzo before launching in Europe in Selfridges and on Paly’s online store at the end of the month. The pieces, including hats, T-shirts and hoodies, are priced between $295 and $850.
According to Lindgren, it was actually Selfridges who orchestrated the collaboration between Paly and the Rolling Stones. Selfridges had been an early champion of Paly and helped it launch to new heights, Lindgren said. Selfridges does an annual “Summer of Sound” event with live music performances, and Universal reached out to the retailer looking for something to do around the Rolling Stones. The Selfridges team suggested Paly, leading to the collaboration.
“Selfridges feels like a small boutique even though it’s massive,” Lindgren said. “They treat their emerging and contemporary designers really well. But wholesale is really tricky, because they can drop you if their customers stop being interested. But in the early days, it’s a lever you have to pull to get visibility.”
Lindgren was careful not to reveal anything more about Universal’s plan, although there have recently been rumors of an impending Rolling Stones reunion, potentially under a different name: “The Cockroaches.” Posters advertising The Cockroaches, using imagery and terminology related to the Stones, along with a website that connects to Universal Music, have appeared in London in the last week, fueling the speculation. The Rolling Stones are a common collaborator with fashion brands, having worked with Skechers, Paul Smith and Bape in the last year.
While Paly started purely as a DTC brand, the last year has seen it increasingly lean toward wholesale.
“Right now it’s 70-30 wholesale,” Lindgren said. Paly also sells in retailers like FWRD and Atelier New York. “It’s been great to bring in new customers. But the goal is more like 50-50. We want to build our own community and our own ecosystem to do events.”
Paly has been growing significantly in the last three years and has become a favorite of celebrities like Jacob Elordi and Bad Bunny, although Lindgren declined to share exact revenue figures. Its clothes are premium luxury and priced accordingly, with work pants selling for over $1,000, for example. Elordi, in particular, has been a fan of the brand from the beginning. Paly made T-shirts inspired by the film “Wuthering Heights” as a gift for Elordi and the rest of the cast and crew of the recent film, which were then sold to the public in time for the movie’s release.
Like many up-and-coming designers, Lindgren said he sees both the benefits and risks of wholesale. Creating opportunities like the chance to collaborate with the Rolling Stones is one of the obvious benefits. But wholesale retail requires relinquishing control and the risk of being railroaded down a path that you may not want to take. He gave, as an example, the James Dean hat, a viral product now selling for over $600 on eBay.
“The wholesale accounts are always ask for the James Dean hat,” Lindgren said. “I stood super firm not to wholesale that hat. It’s super dangerous to become known for just one thing. I will never remake that James Dean hat.”