How the Italian brand embodied its short history into a single range
(Image credit: La Passione)
Founded in 2015 by Giuliano Ragazzi and Yurika Marchetti, La Passione has grown in five years to be one of the most recognisable brands in cycling.
Being a digital-only brand was once seen as being a short cut to founding a new business, that opinion is one that has been turned due to the hard work that brands have put in to providing customers with an experience not available anywhere else, brands can provide exceptional products, exceptional customer service and attention to detail while still being attainable. La Passione’s focus has fundamental values like high-quality Italian craftsmanship, contemporary design, sophistication, elegant and timeless, functional cycling clothing.
In just 5 years, La Passione has transitioned from being the dream of the founders to being positioned in the market next to the most established brands and players in the sector also thanks to the expansion of its online store, with views to better serve their global customers.
Something that is part of the moral fibre of La Passione is ethical accountability, carefully screening all of its suppliers, laundries and factories to ensure all of its products are manufactured under fair, sweatshop-free conditions. For you to ride with a clean, guilt-free conscience, it offers transparency to allow for ethically sourced purchases.
The fresh La Passione Couture Prestige collection combines chic style with technology, a combination the defines the high-end pieces designed for the most demanding riders that are looking for a kit that brings together Italian tailor-made style with market-leading performance.
The Prestige Jersey is stitched with a premium dyed French-produced fabric that features a unique woven texture, offering greater comfort, greater breathability and fit. The fabric has exceptional sweat-wicking properties even on the hottest days, ensuring a fresh feeling next to the skin. Available in five timeless colours Black, Blue, Graphite, Sapphire and Red, it features an innovative cut across the hip to frame the body, a V-cut ergonomic seamless collar and longer laser-cut raw sleeves to help with aerodynamics. It has some smart details technically, two side silicone waist-knurled grippers to provide a more secure fit, and last but not least, the full-length zipper has an internal wind-catcher.
The Prestige Bib Shorts are produced with luxurious woven fabric following on in the lines of the jersey, traditional fine Italian craftsmanship to provide wearers with muscle compression while the super-thin yarns guarantee the highest comfort level and remain soft to the touch. The light material also ensures a high level of breathability even throughout the toughest adventures.
The rear features a breathable mesh section, with a balanced bib-strap in order to allow increased stability on the saddle. The upper part has a coupling system which joins the soft elastic braces made with an antibacterial microfibre material to the short. The leg finish has a raw-cut, with a whole silicone inner band to ensure the maximum hold without over compressing or restricting movement. The bib shorts are available in two different colours, black and blue, equally timeless and perfectly suited to match and complement with any of the five colours available in the jersey from this collection.
2020 is a year of big plans for La Passione, looking to increase its offline business, expand its product lines with all of the values that currently represent the brand that La Passione has grown to embody.
During the first 6 months of this year the company was able to design and launch new collections destined to the female and gravel world. In the future, La Passione Cycling Couture will continue to follow emerging disciplines whilst developing high-performance cycle clothing for all.
La Passione's race is truly only just getting started.
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Peter has been riding and racing road, CX, and mountain bikes since the early 2000’s. He spent a decade working at a large independent bicycle shop, handling customer service, warranty and technical questions. Thanks to an obsession with product details he loves nothing more than picking over the newest tech.
Peter is a fastidious mechanic and will not settle for anything less than perfect when it comes to bike setup, whether it be a child first bike or a highly integrated top-tier time trial or road bike.
He’s been writing for Cyclingnews since 2020 as a Contributing Writer, where having a 50km commute to his day job allows him to quickly rack up the miles when putting any new products to the test in all weathers.
He currently rides one of the following: Specialized Tarmac SL6, Basso Diamate, Talbot Frameworks steel road, Trek Emonda ALR, Specialized Crux, Santa Cruz Tallboy.
