Description

Palace's first XT-6 arrived in 2021 as a reinterpretation of camouflage, released in three colourways across a technical upper built from mesh, TPU film and EVA cushioning over a downhill chassis.

I was the CMF designer on the project, responsible for developing the prints, resolving the colour, and getting a genuinely difficult piece to a production-ready state. A graphic print on a running upper isn't a flat-surface problem. The pattern crosses mesh, film and overlay panels that are cut separately, take ink differently and are then layered on top of one another, and it has to read as continuous once assembled. Placement was worked out piece by piece, and the technical files behind it had to be precise enough for the factory to reproduce the same result across every size and every run.

The three colourways split between one hero and two commercial. The hero was the lilac: grey camo, gradient overlays running through fuchsia and mint, a lilac tongue and neon yellow lace loops. The other two carried the range — beige and quarry with reflective silver overlays, and black with neon yellow.

The collection was released in September 2021 through Palace and Dover Street Market.