Rapha to create bespoke cycling suits

You wait for ages for a Rapha story then two come along at once, our story on their Spring/summer collection will be along shortly (even though they announced it last month) but first it is their bespoke cycling suit which was announced on Monday evening.

While we were being the new collection a few weeks back talk turned to the latest trends and the quest for a tailored suit you can cycle in. When I mentioned that Outlier were working in that direction things went quiet and knowing looks were exchanged. Now we know why. On Monday evening Rapha announced they'd got a suit for cycling in:

“For the past 12 months, Rapha has been working with Timothy Everest, the renowned Savile Row tailor, to develop a suit that is at home both on the bike and in the boardroom. Comprising a jacket, waistcoat and trousers or plus fours [shorts of similar length to the Rapha Fixed Shorts], the finished suit offers elegance, thoughtful touches and luxury finishing, the trademarks that have helped establish Timothy as one of London’s leading fine tailors'.

“Savile Row” and “bespoke” you know that this is going to be reassuringly expensive, and at £3,000 it is. Availability is by invitation only.

You can already get performance tailored suits, late last year we featured Dashing Tweeds and their Sporting Tweeds collection which includes a cycling suit and cape. Dashing Tweeds also supply their cloth to tailors so that you can have your own custom-made cycling suit.

Tweed may be the first performance material and something that both Rapha and Outlier have worked with, but their approach does seem to be different from that of Dashing Tweeds. Both Rapha and Outlier approach the idea of the cycling suit very much from a cycling perspective, just from the drawing we have so far Rapha's creation looks like a suit for cycling in rather than a suit you can cycling in – there is a difference.