Dark and sexual with a playfully subversive edge, Passarella Death Squad create pieces to make people stop, think and then reinvent themselves.
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Created by designer duo Danny Broddle and Emilie Albisser, Passarella first came into being in 2004. Skate kids style Passarella two sizes up; Berlin techno obsessives dance at Berghain teaming the threads with Rick Owens; and hypebeasts wear the label out. Named after a certain renowned 70′s Argentinean football player, each Passarella piece is manufactured exclusively in London and Japan from refined, luxury materials and crafted with S&M soirees in mind.
Creating soundtracks to celebrate and compliment their aesthetic, Passarella release self-produced beats and mixes online (see/listen for yourself here). Given their tuneful tendencies, i-D Online enlisted the help of the supremely talented songstress Rainy Milo to model the Death Squad’s current collection and caught-up with Chief Designer, Danny to chat Trump Room parties in Tokyo, Argentinian art and the infamous Acid house club ‘Shoom’. Swoon.
What inspires you about London and Tokyo? All are vastly different, but there is a sense that you can do anything or be anyone which runs through all of them. I love way that London is influenced by so many different places, same with Tokyo, creating something different but it could only come from these places.
What should we do from dawn to dusk in Tokyo? Tsukiji Fish Market in the morning, natural hot spring ‘Onsen’ in Atami and then back into Tokyo for party at Trump Room.
How does Japanese street style compare to London’s? In Japan it’s more personalised and edited for individual styles.
How’s Passarella best worn? Personally, I’m not into telling people how to wear things. Just enjoy it and wear it to death.
Your t-shirt designs are sick, who are the chief Passarella illustrators? Thank you. They’re designed by us.
Are there any collaborations you’d like to make happen in the future? There’s a few… I’d like to create my own Adidas Gazelle colourway; work with Kuwahara, who created the BMX bikes used on E.T.; and something with Cutler and Gross would be nice.
Who’s inspiring you right now? We’ve been working with the American director and photographer Timothy Saccenti on the launch for our new sub-label Kempes by Passarella Death Squad. Love his work. Hopefully we’ll be working together again later this year. I really like the work of an Argentine artist called Diego Gravinese, another great artist is Beatrice Boyle, who I’m hoping to be working with later in the year. Photographer Mari Sarai’s work is great.
What are your plans for 2012? Aside from working on the next SS13 collections, we’re working on various collaboration projects to be released later this year, one of is a series of t-shirts we’ve created with the Acid house club Shoom celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Musically speaking we’re in the process of finishing our second album, we also have a collaboration release with Gingy & Bordello coming out in June on Turbo Records, plus we’re working on another release with Perc which is a follow up to our Temperature’s Rising release in 2010. One or two podcasts coming soon, next one is for Speedy J’s Electric Deluxe website, that’s being released in May. More live stuff should be following later in the year.
What should we go and listen to now? Go and listen to the new Alex Under’s album La Máquina de Bolas released on ‘Soma Records’, its stunning!!
passarella.co.uk
iamrainy.tumblr.com
All clothes Passarella Death Squad.
Text: Milly McMahon
Photography: Brendan & Brendan
Styling: Shirley Amartey
Model: Rainy Milo
