Rapha and Paul Smith have come together once again to create a special edition riding collection celebrating cycling and its ability to bring people together. Drawing on the decades-long friendship between Paul Smith and Rapha Founder Simon Mottram, that all began because of the bike, the collection speaks to both cycling and friendships, community and creativity. The collaboration features a range of riding accessories, and both an RCC-exclusive jersey in club colours, as well as a black version sporting the signature Paul Smith stripes.
Taking inspiration from the golden era of jersey design – when designs began to become bolder, brighter, and more detailed, and thus, more collectable – the collection is the latest in a long line of collaborations between the two brands over the past decade. The extended line-up includes cycling jerseys, bib shorts, caps, cycling shoes and sunglasses with the signature leaping rabbit motif – a nod to one of Paul’s favourite things to collect – featuring as a recurring jacquard across the collection. The debut of the collaboration will be accompanied by the release of a dual-branded campaign featuring stories from real cyclists from all walks of life and celebrating the power of the sport to bring people together and strengthen bonds between family, friends, and colleagues.
Paul says:
“Collaborating with Rapha and Simon once again has been such an honour – working with someone with shared ideals is always a great pleasure. We were both brimming with ideas for this latest collection, and I hope it shines with our love of the sport as well as our fascination with vintage cycling jerseys.”
Simon says:
“Paul and I are really just two long-time fans of cycling. We share decades of excitement about racing and veneration of cycling heroes – something that brought us together from the earliest days of our friendship. This collaboration was our opportunity to bring that shared history to life and to tell the stories of so many other friendships founded in cycling from around the world.”
