PAL: New leisure wear brand with classic American designs for the whole family

Penny Jane

Penny Jane Ros-Rahimzadeh, former franchise entrepreneur, and her husband Poyan Rahimzadeh, founder of the Dear Vanessa brand, have been working since 2019 to launch their own leisure wear brand. After the planned preparation time and unplanned pandemic that came in between, the Dutch brand of the fashion duo has recently launched. PAL Sporting Goods launched 31 May and will soon be available at Dutch retailers Coef, Calico Jack, Baskèts and Asphalt Gold.

The history of PAL begins a few years back, when Poyan met Penny's English family. The family has a distinct enthusiasm for sports: whether it's cricket or tennis, water or winter sports, everyone comes together for the family games. This family feeling gave Poyan and Penny the idea for the brand. America is also an important point of inspiration for the duo: instead of ultra-modern activewear, they make leisure wear in the style of ‘leisure and the American inspiration is really because of the the america old sportswear fit', says creative director Poyan in the family home, located in the picturesque Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, near Amsterdam. "We choose things that we stand for as a family."

Penny and Poyan, PAL is not a typical sportswear brand. Can you explain why?

Poyan: “We adopt the style of traditional American sportswear in a way that is wearable for everyone. The first collection includes hoodies, T-shirts and sweatpants, with embroidered graphics - no flat prints. Above all, PAL should not be a brand that only produces merchandise: we also don't want to focus exclusively on sportswear, but do as much as possible. We don't know yet what we'll be making in the future - maybe fishing rods, or a canoe.”

“I develop our fabrics myself. Penny and I spent a lot of time finding a good jersey at the beginning. In the end I decided to make my own jersey, a heavy quality woven cotton. Most of our products are one hundred percent cotton.”

Where does your motto come from: 'No difference in champs or chumps'?

Penny: “Before we started the brand, we often talked about our family competitions and the fun we get from them. Everyone has their weaknesses, and there are endless stories to tell – such as how someone tried to win a race in a sinking canoe.”

“That actually happened to me (Penny and Poyan laugh, ed.). We are a family brand, for us there are no 'real winners' - just like during the family competitions. Of course there is competition, and we love that too, but in the end everyone is a champion.”

To what extent is sport a source of inspiration for your collections?

Poyan: “This season the collection is based on tennis, next season we will be inspired by skiing. We do not opt for random hype themes, but rather for the things we stand for as a family.”

Penny: “We always choose a theme with which we have a connection. Then when Poyan designs, he creates something that suits us, something that can be worn anywhere, anytime, and that is long-lasting. We stand for long lasting materials, things you can wear in 30 years from now or your kid grabs out of the cupboard for a match and says it's his dad's old sweater.”

So this season is on the tennis court. How does that inspiration take shape in the collection?

Poyan: “Imagine a tennis match from an old movie set in Beverly Hills, or in the English countryside. During such a match with family and or with friends you want to wear a quality pullover or hoodie. That's where we come in.”

Penny: “Our varsity jacket (also known as a letterman jacket, ed.) is the highlight of the season for us. The jacket embodies a kind of tennis fantasy for Poyan, with an embroidered tennis racket on the back.”

What makes the jacket so special?

Poyan: “We make all the applications ourselves, and the leather comes from an old stock in which we found several meters.”

How are the collections structured?

Penny: “In the collection we always have sweatpants, hoodies, a seasonal hoodie, T-shirts, long sleeves , crewnecks and half zips (a sweater with a zipper on the front, ed.). The varsity jacket will be our 'jacket' - in winter we fill it up a bit more. But there can also be a puffer. In addition, we will also be making crazier items, such as special bodysuits and jackets that are season-specific. Everything else, on the other hand, shouldn't be seasonal. Then it will last longer.”

If the products are not seasonal, how do you deal with materials?

Penny: “The fabrics for the summer will be slightly lighter than for the winter. But the weather is constantly changing, the seasons are so short and in retail there is so much overlap…”

Poyan: “...so basically you can wear them [the summer and winter collections] whenever you want.”

Due to the lockdown caused by the pandemic, many brick-and-mortar retailers are left with leftover goods. Should your approach also prevent overcrowded warehouses?

Penny: “All that overstock and waste is of no use to us. What do you do with the remaining stock when the season is over? We have seen some terrible examples from fast fashion in recent times: items were burned just because the season was over.”

Poyan: “We use our own fabrics for PAL. What can be produced with it is produced - no material remains. In this way we do our bit, but we cannot claim that we do recycling. Our products are really about quality and longevity.”

PAL stands for Palmer and Lola Sporting Goods. Where did that name come from?

Poyan: “It's actually a joke. We used to say to each other that when we have kids, we want to call them Palmer and Lola. We are a family-oriented company, and we want our name to reflect that. When we say we want to be an authentic leisure wear sports brand, we really want to live up to it, and it will remain so for decades to come – it starts with us and continues with our children, and their children.”

So is it about creating an identity that you feel connected to?

Penny: “leisure wear is very male-dominated. In addition, I have always found it nonsense that there are women's and men's teams in sports, I don't think there should be a difference. The brand is therefore unisex, and there is also a women's name in the name of the brand: Lola. Everyone can participate equally - fortunately the rest of the world is increasingly recognizing that. Palmer and Lola could be anyone: it could be two kids, it could be us, it could be you. It's not just a brand, but something or someone that people can really identify with.”

Poyan: “PAL also refers to the English term for 'friend' - you are part of our family or circle of friends, that's how we set up the brand”.

As for kids, will there be a line for them too?

Penny: “We are currently planning a line for children, which will be called 'Pals'.”

Poyan: “We would like to make exactly the same pieces for children [as for adults]. However, the problem is often that the fit is different. We are currently testing our fabric on a Monarch machine, which regulates the knit structure of the sweater. The structure of the weft is much denser and that reduces shrinkage - so we need less yarn for our finished product. This method also allows us to convert an adult silhouette to a child size.”

“In addition, the quality is maintained, which is really important. If your kids are between four and six years old, you want them to be able to wear something for at least a year.”

Penny: “A lot of people buy piles of clothes for their children. Many of my friends are annoyed by the overstuffed wardrobes in the children's rooms - but they also don't want to throw anything away. That is why we develop a fit that you can wear a little longer or that you can even grow into. Instead of throwing it away afterwards, you can give it to your brother or cousin - the fabric stays good and so does the fit.”

Vintage and second-hand products are becoming increasingly popular…

Penny: “We have noticed that people are buying more and more vintage. Levi's jeans, for example, are indestructible. There are jeans from the 1980s that are still worn today. People clearly like to wear things that have a long life.”

Poyan: “We hope that if you search for PAL on Ebay in thirty years' time, you will actually find something.”

And what will be PAL's first retail outlets?

Poyan: “Initially we planned to sell the collection exclusively through our own webshop. With our background in retail, we then decided to select a number of retailers for the first season. We will start in the Netherlands with Coef, Baskèts and Calico Jack and in Germany with Asphalt Gold, but when the autumn-winter 2022 sales season starts in January, the plans are ready to expand internationally.”

Penny: “We're pretty picky. We want a long-term relationship with the retailers we have chosen. We want to build the brand with these retailers. An important condition is that they do not continuously change their brand portfolio. In addition, they are high-quality retailers, aimed at both men and women.”

You produce in Turkey, why?

Poyan: “We tried to keep it as close to home as possible. Initially we searched in Europe. But the real reason [for Turkey] is that we ran into the right people: One of Penny's relatives has had a factory in the country for over twenty years. At a family dinner, her father suddenly said, "By the way, my niece has a factory." We have a very good relationship because they have been in the industry for so long and understand what we want.”

Now the launch. What's next for PAL?

Penny: “We've seen a lot of collaborations with influencers in recent years that moved quickly from brand to brand. Loyalty and to a brand and long-term relationships with people are becoming increasingly rare. That is why we want to work with people who enjoy sports and who are focused on their family.”

Poyan: “In terms of design, the next step is the Fraternity collection, based on the student associations in the US, which will be released in November, December.”

Penny: “This one is especially for the holidays, with items to give to your family, that's going to be fun. We spend the holidays with our family, in the traditional way. We hope that everything can go back to normal next December.”

PAL Sporting Goods available from May 31 through the brand's webshop and at retailers Coef, Baskèts and Calico Jack in the Netherlands and Asphalt Gold in Germany. Prices range from 85 euros for a long sleeve to 299 euros for the varsity jacket.

This interview was previously published on FashionUnited.de and FashionUnited.nl. Translation and editing from Dutch into English by Kelly Press.

Images: PAL Sporting Goods (unless otherwise noted)