Yahoo Lifestyle Cycling Is at the Center of Agnès b.’s Upcoming Collaboration
As a climate activist and champion of sustainability and responsible fashion, the designer known as Agnès b. encourages cycling as a mode of transportation.
Her signature company is playing that up through a new collaboration with the biking-friendly apparel and accessories-maker Café du Cycliste. With production primarily in Europe and a reputation for using recycled materials, the 14-year-old brand is in line with the French designer’s ideology.
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All Agnès b. and Café du Cycliste products are made in France or in Europe by suppliers who have been partners of the two brands for many years. The designer has another point of proximity — she has two stores in Nice, France, where Café du Cycliste has its base.
Launching at the end of this month, the collection for men and women will feature outdoor clothing for everyday wear, inspired by the world of cycling. Two zip-front cardigans, a tank top, utility shorts, and unisex t-shirts imprinted with handwritten messages by Agnès will be in the mix, as well as a silk scarf, cycling cap, musette bag and bidon water bottle. For more ambitious cyclists, there is a technical uniform of road jersey and bib shorts featuring an exclusive color print derived from a photograph taken by Agnès. The image was taken with a Harinezumi onboard a TGV, and relays the notion of speed, in keeping with the sport of cycling theme.
Retail prices will start at $30 and will top off at $345. There is a good deal of business to be had, considering the global biking industry was $64.2 billion as of last year.
The collection will be available for sale in Agnès b. boutiques around the world and in Café du Cycliste stores and stockists, as well as on their respective websites from May 24.
To generate more French-inspired pedal power, a bike-ride picnic style event is in the works for the launch at the designer’s SoHo store in Manhattan. Guests will indulge in baguette sandwiches and the La Raoul Agnès b. bière blonde. Other events are planned abroad, starting with a Paris one on May 24. Experienced cyclists, including the founder of Café du Cycliste, will take part in a bike ride around the River Seine before heading to a cocktail party with drinks and delicacies from Nice at the agnès b. flagship in Paris.
On the following day in London, the debut of the collection and the opening of a Café du Cycliste pop-up shop will be celebrated with a cycle ride from Via Atelier in Kings Cross to the Agnès b. flagship in Covent Garden. The ride will be hosted by a French architect, who lives in London, Christophe Egret. Cyclists will stop by a few interesting architectural and food places en route. Via Atelier will also be showcasing the collaboration. There will be fish and chips, Paris-Brest desserts and a Pimm’s cycle cart serving up libations.
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