This Explore Collection was born from taking the design team bike packing for a long weekend and utilising bringing everything you need by bike for the ultimate in freedom, with no compromise on authentic comfort and style.
We focused our efforts on what were the key pieces you would need for a bike packing adventure and focused our efforts in making every detail count, down to the gram you would carry with you.
In redefining and what the collection meant for the brand, we challenged the values and integrity of the collection across a myriad of our fundamentals. Through fabrication, details, design DNA, silhouette, functionality, adaptability and modularity, we were able to build a truly purposeful and trend centric collection all to be worn and utilised for a life by bike.
From the opportunity we learnt and experienced through bikepacking together; I challenged us to curate and create a playbook for the collection to be built from a place of purpose, design aesthetic and intentional modularity. We researched and defined the ability to adapt key shapes and features of the collection, to ensure every style works for both on bike wearability, yet still look great for when they are at the campfire at the end of a long day riding.
Each key element of adjustability, versatility and ways that each style can pack on to the bike. For example the short sleeve tee not only had a zipper front pocket to store key items while riding, but also packs in to itself to store on the bike.
The core final fundamental was us to stress our raw materials within the collection, focusing on sustainable materials for multi-day use. We scrutinised on weight to ensure we reduced as much from the products as possible, without compromising on comfort, warmth or wicking/ air permeability/ water or wind resistance within each material on every style.
RAPHA EXPLORE
Seasonal Colour Palette inspired by our team bike packing trip fauna
As a result of our workshops around the collections identity and values, we set up a space to focus on the experience and story telling we wanted to share with the consumer and set us apart from our road, race and lifestyle collections.
The team curated spaces to focus on a “full day in the life” experience of what you would need on bike, along with outlining the design tonality and core aesthetic language to ensure the collection channeled a ‘red thread’ throughout the product range.
The design team defined the difference for silhouette and details for Mens and Womens shorts being one of the key styles to prioritise for on bike summer outfitting.
While they focused on the front branded clasp closure for security and zipper pockets for storage and packability; they focused on the shape and fabrication of both styles to have a slightly different fit and construction for both shorts.
Throughout this collection, the awareness of the sun while riding for multiple days was a major driver in designing a lightweight wicking and UPF layer for the sun.
This long sleeve provides versatility to keep the wind off in cold descents, but also protecting the skin under the suns intense rays with 40+ UPF.
With key details such as a stash pocket build in to the back panel of the shirt, for your to store items while on the bike. There are front snap closure for freedom to snap open for ventilation.
(The style also packs down in to its front zipper pocket to store on the bike.)
The highlight style for the collection is our ultimate lightweight Explore Down Jacket. This piece was the biggest focus for the team to work through key details such as the stash bag built in to the style, along with working through the ultimate in lightweight, yet the warmest insulation possible.
Using our lightweight Allied down with 650 fill power, This is our lightest, most compact, yet warmest style to date for the range.
We maintained the key features such as the cuffs and shoulder with a lightweight synthetic fill to reduce water logging at these areas for on the bike, and maintained the integrity of warming along the sleeve, hood and body of the garment.
Our ultimate Explore Tee was defined by our need to wear lightweight, wicking and door managing styles that would work for a multi day bike adventure. This is our lightest weight merino jersey made from an 18.5 micron Italian blend merino.
Utilising patterning for a comfortable on bike shape, yet a versatile look while off the bike; this style was the ultimate in comfort and premium fabrication for a life on and off the bike.
We also designed our lightweight fill Explore Gilet to work for the bike. Utilising an internal drop in stash pocket for on the bike; zipper pockets for security and a 2 way zipper for ventilation while on the bike.
Seasonal Colour Palette Part 2.
Inspired by fauna and lichen from
our bike backing trip