LOVE AND PALACE — British cult streetwear brand Palace is releasing a collaboration on Friday with French designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, offering up a whimsical spin on the concepts of love and peace.

Building on de Castelbajac’s signature fusion of color, surrealism and irreverent play, the collaboration centers around collage, which, according to the designer, freed his work from the lines of drawing.

“Collage is an art technique that has been used by Dada artist Raoul Hausmann, Henri Matisse and punk graphic designer Jamie Reid. In this third collection for Palace, I wanted no frontier between art, fashion, style and movement,” said de Castelbajac, who is best known for outfitting more than 700 clergy members for the Notre-Dame de Paris Reopening, as well as designs like his teddy bear coat and Iceberg cartoon sweaters, prized by the hip-hop set.

“Every element is a moving art piece, a collectible, a special one for universal graphic heroes,” he said. The collaboration mixed photos, colors, words and shapes, dismantling and rebuilding Palace’s lettering through felt appliqué, layered prints and surreal graphic treatments.

“I used the motif of the dove because it is a symbol of peace, the dove carries serenity, spirituality and harmony. In this turbulent world, it felt important to send a message of hope. There is also the eye, which symbolize observation and awareness, reflecting our society where, through social media, we are constantly watching the evolution of the world. Finally, the bust in marble evokes history and the roots of humanity,” he said.

Key pieces in the capsule include a wool varsity jacket featuring multicolored cutout felt appliqués, a knit sweater blending half-checkerboard patterns with oversize lettering, denim jackets and wide-leg trousers detailed with vibrant cutouts, hoodies and long-sleeve T-shirts embedded with collage imagery and T-shirts with reworked versions of the Palace triangle logo.

Palace and de Castelbajac teamed in 2019 for a collection that was themed around fraternity, with the brand’s logo reimagined as three hands in blue, yellow and red.

They reunited in 2020 for a second drop that celebrated hope, joy, color, signs and symbols with wardrobe essentials adorned with peace signs, hearts, teddy bears, wings, palm trees, tangerines, wine bottles and acid house smiley faces.

“I’m very attached to this brand, we’ve known each other for a long time, even before Palace, back in the early days. To me, the strength and creativity of a group of friends, along with their constant drive to reinvent themselves through bold and offbeat collaborations, is what defines Palace. It’s more than just fashion, it’s a style, an energy and a community I genuinely enjoy engaging with,” he said.

“For me, it’s also a challenge that plays a key role in my own reinvention. I also do wear Palace, it’s my stylistic connection with my grandson Balthazar,” said de Castelbajac.