It's a retro thing

I'm not sure I completely get some aspects of the current upsurge in retro bike clothing.  In particular, where's it going to stop?

I can understand the fascination with Molteni, Faema and even Peugeot.  You may just be advertising  sausages and coffee machines but they're design classics, icons from a simpler time when team kits didn't scream a thousand mixed messages.

From a later era, the Del Tongo and Brooklyn jerseys are still stylish and timeless.  

But now we're being urged to buy "classic" PDM and Reynolds kit and I'm not sure I'm with that particular programme.  Still less do I buy the idea that Mapei holds any magic.  Not only does it make you look like you've been attacked by a colour-blind madman with a box of Sharpies, it's now generally accepted that the team were a bunch of cheating toe-rags.

I'm surprised that one of the truly iconic '80's team kits, the Mondrian-inspired La Vie Claire-Look outfit, hasn't been made available.  It was one of the first to be widely adopted by "ordinary" riders, and I still regret throwing out my multi-coloured winter training jacket. Knowing the history of team owner Bernard Tapie, it's likely that some complicated legal issue lies behind its non-appearance.

Presumably, issues over copyright logos lie behind the design philosophy of New Zealand brand Solo.  They produce high-end, sublimation printed jerseys in national colours, featuring the logos of made-up brands.   If I find the idea of riding round dressed as a billboard for a Spanish central heating firm odd, I find it even odder that you'd want to advertise an imaginary Belgian beer.  But the jerseys look nice, and they're Kiwis, so I suppose we should cut them some slack.

It's probably safe to assume that some team kits will never be reissued.   Aqua e Sapone anyone?  Thought not.  Though I do think that, after the eyeball-searing horrors of the 90's,  kit design is going through a relatively tasteful phase, perhaps reflecting  a wider understanding of decent design among the general public.

In this month's Cycle Sport, there's a reminder of one truly ghastly kit that had been wiped from my memory.  I thought that Carrera Jeans' attempt to make their riders look as though they were wearing stone-washed denims was a low-point in cycling fashion, but I'd forgotten Castorama.

The French DIY chain designed their shirt and jerseys to look like workmens' blue bib overalls. 

Check out the Maurizio Fondriest article in Cycle Sport, and the photo with Laurent Fignon in the background.

Imagine the shame.  You are a two-time winner of the Tour De France, generally recognised as one of the coolest, most stylish racers ever.  You exude chilly Parisian chic and, with your gold rimmed glasses and ponytail, you would look entirely at home in the Deux Magots, arguing existentialism with Jean Paul and Simone.

Then your employer forces you to dress like Bob the Builder.  Tragic, truly tragic.