paratodo

FW21

by Francis Young

For our Fall/Winter 2021 collection, we collaborated with Mighty Writers to help fund both writing and literacy programs for children across Philadelphia, New Jersey, and New York. The focus of this organization is to enhance students' access to quality literacy/writing programs in low performing districts through engaging events, programs, and staff.

A lot of major milestones were met during this season: we had our first out-of-state event in New York, we released the Tundra Trouser, and we celebrated 5 YEARS of PARATODO! The collections released during this period were representative of all those prior, from the return of the London '68 Jacket that got us on GQ, to new pieces like the '49 Alumni Hoodie which was inspired by our affinity to postwar era styling, to the overwhelming response we received from the Tundra Trouser release which was years in the making.

In all honesty, this was collection of pieces designed for me (Fran); after all, I was wearing the Tundra Trouser samples around for almost a year and a half before they released. However, it was much more a showcasing of what I want this company to be in the years to come: always challenging the limits of what we can do but being intentional when executing its growth.

Overall, it was such a memorable season, meeting new friends, taking new risks, recreating how we operate and design, but even more-so, this is a promise that the next 5 years are going to be exciting.

- Fran