You've probably heard it before: « You've got style on your bike today! » But in fact, what is style? Can we define what is stylish or does it depend on each person? Through a series of exchanges with cycling actors, we will try to define style in cycling! For this first special episode, we talked with Alexandre and Cédric, the two creators of Chef de File, and we asked ourselves: what is style in cycling?
You must have guessed it, for us the first element that makes the style in cycling is the outfit. A cyclist may have a nice bike, great shoes or a great helmet, but if the outfit does not follow the style will not be part of the game!
As in our daily life, we like to wear nice clothes. To have a nice jersey, nice bibshorts and socks that match the whole, even before talking about style, it is above all a pleasure! We naturally pay attention to our look and it makes us want to ride even more.
The influence of ready-to-wear
In recent years, the influence of ready-to-wear clothing has been particularly strong in sportswear and, by extension, in cycling. Both in terms of colors and patterns, lifestyle trends have been applied to cycling jerseys. As Alexandre says:
« We are lucky to be in a country where fashion and creativity in clothing are very developed. This is also the reason why we are proud to promote the French cycling lifestyle. Camouflage, marinière, vintage, we do not invent anything, we will apply the Chef de File touch on what is in fashion. Taking iconic ready-to-wear and applying finesse, sparingly and elegance so that it translates in the most beautiful way on a bike outfit! »
Chef de File's signature jersey comes from French fashion and ready-to-wear: the marinière ! An outfit that we continue to revisit throughout our collections and which should hold a few surprises for you next year.
Fashion is above all about cycles, a jersey that has marked a generation can be updated with current standards. And this is also where fancy comes into play to bring that touch of modernity.
Style is also fancy
It takes imagination to sublimate and revisit the timeless. Even more so in a discipline like cycling, which remains a very traditional sport. The dosage and the control have an important part for that to work. For an outfit to have style, you need a pinch of fantasy and not to turn to the too much: markings that are too big, too colorful or a design that is too kitsch. This touch of eccentricity allows the style, and we over-validate, but it must be done sparingly on the outfits!
Indeed, an all-black outfit, it's classy we can't deny it, but it's « seen over and over again ». It simply lacks originality! Alexandre draws a parallel with the world of cars: « no one can say that an all-black or all-white car is not classy ». For Cédric, cycling allows him to exploit his creativity: « in the world of textiles, we can bring something original, fanciful and get out of the bi-color, we must take advantage of it. ».
The colors also have their role to play in the perception of style. All colors can be combined quite easily, again depending on the dosage. You can easily fall into something unsightly. On our side, the navy blue is THE color that we think directly when we evoke the style...
Color and fancy patterns applied sparingly bring a real touch of style and break the codes! This is the philosophy we apply to our jerseys to make you ride in style.
The sentimental impact
The story conveyed around the outfit has an additional power of seduction. The sentimental aspect can therefore impact the perception of style. In particular, when we talk about the outfits that we find particularly classy in the professional peloton. It is also this type of emotion that we try to convey through our personalized jerseys, as Cedric points out:
« When I was younger, I loved the T-Mobile jersey. The design was quite simplistic, but for the time that bright pink was a pretty daring color. More in the design, I think of the jersey of Domina Vacanze of Mario Cipollini. It was a zebra jersey totally fancy. The Italian jersey has remained iconic because it was offbeat in a very traditionalist peloton! A fancy jersey can put your club in cycling legend. »
(c) Sirotti
Iconic ready-to-wear pieces, fancy and a hint of a story to tell. It is by following this formula and these elements that we imagine our outfits. With one objective: to contribute to the style of cycling and to bring the French cycling lifestyle to the forefront.
So? For you, what is the style in cycling?
Imagine and design top quality outfits to satisfy you and support you in your quest for style and cycling performance. Do not hesitate to follow us on our networks to see our most beautiful jerseys worn ou to follow the news of our partner clubs.
