Stylish urban cycling inspired brand, Vulpine announced back in July that they’ll be working with Sir Chris Hoy on a new project, cleverly named ‘HOY Vulpine’.
While this may seem like a good collaboration, I believe it will devalue Vulpine as an independent brand and lose it’s identity to the seemingly commercially obsessed HOY.
Sir Chris Hoy has joined forces with Vulpine to create a new range of clothing. Following the success of his new bike brand, launched in collaboration with Evans Cycles last year, Britain’s most decorated Olympian has turned his attention to cycling apparel.
Details of the first HOY Vulpine range, due to launch spring/summer 2015, will be announced later this year. What we can be fairly certain of is that it won’t include a version of the super-aerodynamic skinsuits that Hoy wore during his stellar track career.
Just as the HOY bike brand is aimed at cyclists of all genres, ages and abilities, young British label Vulpine specialises in everyday bike wear that can be worn on or off the bike; there’s not a whiff of Lycra in its own current range.
According to Vulpine, accessible quality, style and performance will be the core considerations for both Vulpine’s designers and Sir Chris as the initial range takes shape.
Hoy said: “I am thrilled to be working alongside Vulpine. My aim was always to grow the brand, creating a HOY clothing range that excites cyclists and that I truly believe in, and Vulpine does just that.”
Vulpine founder Nick Hussey said: “We’ve been in discussions with Chris since last year. Very quickly we realised that both brands’ attitudes to cycling as a whole overlap extremely closely. Neither of us are in it merely to make ‘stuff’.
“It all had to mean something. Chris wanted to work with a brand that he could identify with and trust, and I’m beyond thrilled that he chose us. We both want to make cycling clothing people want to wear, not feel they have to.”
The range of bikes Hoy stuck his name on through the partnership with Evans are pretty bad, while they may have been designed with the best intentions, the frames are ugly and badly made.
Vulpine are clearly very excited by the project, their blog post reads like an excited teenager. No doubt this partnership with Vulpine and Hoy will only increase their popularity and market share, but they’ll need to keep an eye on quality and be careful not to lose their ‘niche’ brand identity.
Vupline.cc
Hoy Bikes