Palace Founder Lev Tanju on His New Role as Creative Director of Fila+

January 12, 2024

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Another day, another new creative directorship in fashion — and we predict this new recruit might be among the most inspired hires of 2024.

Following 15 years of building his London skate startup Palace into one of the most recognisable (and rascally) brands in global streetwear, Lev Tanju has taken on a surprising side hustle: today, he is named creative director of the 113-year-old Italian sportswear brand Fila’s new “elevated” offshoot, Fila+.

In a statement issued this morning, Fila global brand president Todd Klein said: “We are thrilled to welcome Lev as the creative director of Fila+. His forward-thinking approach is aligned with our mission to innovate while honouring Fila’s legacy as a premium sports brand.”

Tanju says that while he’s been offered creative roles before — and done a little under-the-line consulting — this was the first offer that intrigued him enough to bite. He explains: “At the Fila archive, I was really inspired. There are so many things about the brand I didn’t know about that I think are really incredible. I love sportswear, and I love making clothes, and I felt really comfortable with the people and interested in the brand — so I thought, ‘OK, great’.”

Tanju has been dividing his time between London, where he will continue to rule Palace, and Milan, home of the Fila+ studio, for the last five months as he shapes its debut collection. This will be shown to buyers in Paris next week behind closed doors prior to its reveal in June. The plan is to distribute the collection across e-commerce partners, department stores and selected multi-brand boutiques.

One indication of Fila’s confidence in the new Tanju-led offshoot, which is being produced with Milan’s 247 Group, is that it has signed off on a newly updated version of its F-Box logo, originally designed by Sergio Privitera back in 1973. The new version sees the logo reimagined in the colours of the Italian tricolore. “For me, Italy stands for all things stylish,” said Tanju in the release. “And I want Fila’s rich Italian heritage to be at the heart of Fila+.”

Working to distribute through a wholesale model instead of DTC is something new for Tanju, as will be the presentation process in Paris next week. He said: “It’s completely different and not something I’ve done before. That’s exciting, and I’m learning.”

Fila+ is conceived as a progressive heritage brand — looking back to step forward — and has 113 years of heritage to play with as raw material for new design. “I’ve always designed by exploring things that I just really like — touching on the old and bringing in something new. I’m also very excited to have the opportunity to do footwear. I’m updating and doing some modern takes on certain things,” Tanju says.

This presented Tanju with an abundance of material to riff on, like the tracksuit silhouette and a long influence during Britpop. One icon Tanju considered while shaping his debut is George Michael. He said: “I couldn’t believe how much Fila popped up when I was watching the Wham! documentary. So with this, I am going back to my English roots in certain ways but also trying to be true to the Italian soul and heritage, which is really important to me.”

Fila’s sports affiliations also run deep: he recalls a notable sponsorship with basketball player Grant Hill, Ferrari and Swedish tennis player Björn Borg, as well as West Ham United and Fiorentina football clubs. “I’m not going in that direction for now,” he says. “I’m not trying to make the fastest pair of shorts in the world.”

Performance serves as inspiration. One focus, he shared, has been the White Rock mountaineering line. This was designed for Fila by Pierluigi Rolando in the mid-1970s and later worn by Reinhold Messner on two ascents of Mount Everest, both without oxygen supplies. “Watching the archive videos, it’s amazing to realise how much he achieved and what he did for that sport — he was above everyone in the field. So the images of him and his equipment have been an inspiration too.”

Tanju said that there are no current plans to cross-pollinate Fila+ and Palace. But he added that he has detected parallels between the two. “A lot of the advertising from the ’90s reminded me of what we do. There was a lot of humour in it that I recognised. I design both the idea of a collection and the way in which I would see it marketed, so bringing that process to people who trust me to do that is something I feel lucky to do.”

He added: “I’m a dedicated, gnarly consumer, and I love clothes and things that other people make. But also, my taste and the direction I tend to go in are bold and a bit funny, with some irony, and it’s impossible for me personally not to do that. Clothes are important, and I love them, but I want to be having fun with them.”

So far, Tanju concluded, this Fila+ process has delivered that experience. “It’s been great. The people are all really friendly and unpretentious. We’ve been working on ideas and started filming already. And just being here in Italy is something I’m really enjoying a lot.”