The two brands' latest release celebrates cycling's power to bring people together
(Image credit: Rapha)
Rapha and Paul Smith have launched a new special edition collection of cycling accessories and jerseys. The new collection draws on the decades-long friendship between Rapha founder Simon Mottram and designer and lifelong cycling fan Paul Smith. According to Rapha, the collection speaks to cycling, friendships, community and creativity.
The collection contains riding accessories like caps, socks and shoes as well as two cycling jerseys. Taking inspiration from the highly detailed 1960s era of cycling jersey design. There will be an exclusive Rapha Cycling Club (RCC) jersey in blue, plus an alternate black version with the iconic Paul Smith stripes which will be available from Paul Smith.
Rapha says the contrasting colourways of the jerseys show the two versions of historic racing jerseys. The physical, full-colour jersey and the monochrome version immortalised in television images, posters and newspaper clippings.
The Paul Smith leaping rabbit motif can be seen on the jersey’s arm (Image credit: Rapha)
The collection consists of a classic long-sleeve jersey in two versions, cap, socks, shoes and glasses and features the leaping rabbit motif, Artist Stripe-inspired zip tape, reflective patch and contrasting Rapha cycling club stripe.
Rapha founder Simon Mottram said: “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.”
Paul Smith said: “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.”
Paul Smith stripes and a Rapha + Paul Smith logo feature on the long sleeve jersey (Image credit: Rapha)
Rapha also supplies cycling kit to the EF Education-TIBCO-SVB and EF Education-EasyPost women's and men's professional teams. The 2023 Pro team kit is also now available to purchase from Rapha. Canadian racer Alison Jackson recently wore the kit to ride to victory at Paris-Roubaix Femmes.
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The pro cycling team kits have been an eye-catching shade of pink for several years, but Rapha says the range has been developed for 2023 to deliver pure performance in parallel with increased comfort. The range includes staple race kit like the Pro Team aero jersey as well as accessories like the bucket hat and musette.
Pro rider Esteban Chaves said, "I really like it, it feels like a second skin, the part of the neck is awesome because you don't feel anything, and the weight - there's almost nothing there."
"I love the upgrades to the new Pro Team Aero jersey, the aero fabric on the sleeves fits perfectly over the upper arm and shoulder without any wrinkles," said Lizzy Banks, of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB. "I love putting on this kit, it always makes me feel so special and you can't help but smile when you catch a reflection of yourself in a car or shop window. The new design is strikingly simple, and as a side benefit to looking awesome makes me feel so safe out on the roads."
The new Rapha and Paul Smith collections as well as the 2023 Rapha Pro team kit are available from Rapha. cc and PaulSmith.com
Tom joined the Cyclingnews team in late 2022 as a tech writer. Despite having a degree in English Literature he has spent his entire working life in the cycling industry in one form or another. He has over 10 years of experience as a qualified mechanic, with the last five years before joining Cyclingnews being spent running an independent workshop. This means he is just as happy tinkering away in the garage as he is out on the road bike, and he isn’t afraid to pull a bike apart or get hands-on with it when testing to really see what it’s made of.
He has ridden and raced bikes from an early age up to a national level on the road and track, and has ridden and competed in most disciplines. He has a keen eye for pro-team tech and enjoys spotting new or interesting components in the wild. During his time at Cyclingnews, Tom has already interviewed some of the sport's biggest names including Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Alberto Contador. He's also covered various launches from brands such as Pinarello, Ridley, Specialized and more, tackled the Roubaix Challenge sportive aboard his own rim-brake Cannondale SuperSix Evo, tested over 20 aero helmets in the wind tunnel, and has created helpful in-depth buying advice relating to countless categories from torque wrenches to winter clothing.
