Jimmy Fallon’s ‘P'Jimmies’ for Alex Mill Were Designed With Love and Laughter

Jimmy Fallon can recall the exact aha moment that gave way to his latest fashion venture. He was having a brainstorming lunch with friend and collaborator Mickey Drexler, head of Drexler Ventures, and after suggesting a few ideas he’d had for a collaboration, Drexler interrupted and said, “What about pajamas?” As Fallon explained over the phone, “It was like a record scratch.” He mimicked the sound in his stand-up-guy kind of way: “Wooshhh, pa, pa, pajamas!”

Fallon and Drexler then met with Alex Mill’s cofounder and designer Somsack Sikhounmuong, along with Drexler’s son and cofounder of the brand Alex Drexler to discuss turning the pajama project into something real. Tonight, the P'Jimmies collection of colorful, striped, unisex pajamas and sleep accessories will launch on the Alex Mill website, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to Feeding America. The collection will officially be announced by Fallon himself on The Tonight Show this evening, which will feature the entire cast and crew in P'Jimmies for a “socially distanced dance party.”

Photo: Mei Tao / Courtesy of Alex Mill

Fallon’s first foray into design was in 2015, when he teamed up with Drexler and J.Crew to launch the “Pocket Dial”—an iPhone case with a pocket square attached to the top for a blazer or suit jacket. The comedian and late-night host has always been interested in fashion, but pajamas are particularly special to him. Even before he’d started working from home during the pandemic, Fallon would travel to London at least once a year, and he’d always stop by his favorite custom pajama shop (he’s keeping the name a secret). However, he’d come to realize that the fit wasn’t quite right. He wanted pockets for walking the dog or running out to the store, and as he explained, “The front hole was too saggy and floppy. It was just way too big, and I realized, there was no love put into these; people have lost the love of pajamas.”

In his collaboration with Alex Mill, Fallon worked closely with Sikhounmuong on the design. The collection includes a P'Jimmies jumpsuit as well as a face mask, sleep eye mask, beanie hat, socks, and short and pants sets. “At Alex Mill, we think a lot about our day-to-day uniform, but no one was really doing a night-to-night uniform,” Sikhounmuong said. “It was an opportunity to do something fun and entertaining with pajamas.”

Fallon was excited to point out that there are “Easter eggs,” or subtle, playful details in the design of the P'Jimmes. Namely, on the inside of the waist of the pants are sayings like “nighty night” and “have a nice sleep,” things that Fallon often says to close The Tonight Show. He hopes that, in addition to the charitable component, the P'Jimmies can provide some semblance of joy right now and during the holidays, especially as much of the country is unfortunately on the brink of another coronavirus lockdown. “People miss dressing up,” Fallon said. “In this day and age, putting on cool pj’s can be considered dressing up.”