The New Rapha x Palace Skateboard Collection Helping To Make Lycra Fashionable

This eye-catching collaboration between two blockbuster fashion brands is the coolest thing on two-wheels
09:00, 13 Oct 2020

Lycra. The skin-hugging, belly-showing, blood-restricting material that should only be worn by elite level cyclists. It has never been fashionable. Until now. 

As is the way with the modern world, the outfits adorned by all of the big name cyclists during major races are now nothing more than billboards advertising the latest product you neither want or need. Collaborations are rarer than a Paul Hollywood handshake (sorry, too much Bake Off) in the world of cycling but finally we have won. Cycling clothing brand Rapha have teamed up with streetwear dons Palace and come up with something extremely eye-catching. 

SM Insta Rapha Palace 01jpg

Rapha were already designing the outfits of cycling team Education First ahead of the delayed and therefore much-anticipated Giro D’Italia, but now they have jazzed up the pink and blue design with this outlandish number. Both Soho brands have combined to create this eye-catching number, which features a knock-off Donald Duck, wearing a flipped-peak cycling casquette and a cycling jersey.

SM Insta Rapha Palace 02jpg

That could be enough to knock any member of the peloton off balance if they catch a glimpse of Donald up close. Palace’s iconic triangle is perfectly blended with the Rapha logo - in fact, the two look as if they belong together. 

SM Insta Rapha Palace 05jpg

The streetwear brand has been inspired by Italian pro-cycling designs of the late 80s and 90s. Brash and colourful, they’ve hit the nail on the head. However, in a strange ‘Circle of Life’ moment that even Elton John would be proud of, Rapha was set up as a direct rival or an alternative to those Italian brands. 

 

SM Insta Rapha Palace 07jpg

Palace have enjoyed sporting crossovers in the past, Umbro in 2012 and Adidas+Juventus last year, but this could just be the most eye-popping to date. Lycra, it turns out, can be fashionable.

x
Suggested Searches:
The Sportsman
Manchester United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Premier League
Sportsman HQ
72-76 Cross St
Manchester M2 4JG
We will not ask you to provide any personal information when using The Sportsman website. You may see advertisement banners on the site, and if you choose to visit those websites, you will accept the terms and conditions and privacy policy applicable to those websites. The link below directs you to our Group Privacy Policy, and our Data Protection Officer can be contacted by email at: [email protected]

All original material is Copyright © 2019 by The Sportsman Communications Ltd.
Other material is copyright their respective owners.