Pupils from two schools in Kingston-Upon-Thames have collaborated with cycling-focused fashion brand Ana Nichoola and the local council’s Road Safety and Environment Department to produce the BikeHood Hoodie, under a project to get more teenage girls riding bikes.
Anna Glowinski, head designer at Ana Nichoola, was brought in to work alongside eight students from Tiffin Girls School and Holy Cross School, both in Kingston, after the perception that “girls, cycling and fashion don’t mix” was identified as one of the main barriers preventing girls from cycling.
Glowinski, a competitive cyclist as well as a fashion designer, spent six months working with the girls, who were united in proclaiming the hoodie as the essential garment in their wardrobes, hence its choice as the item of clothing they worked on to make more bike-friendly, while keeping stylish as well.
The result is the BikeHood, made from organic cotton and available in black, with a pink line silhouette of the London skyline and a reflective strip in 3M Scotchlite that matches the curves of the River Thames as it flows through the capital, as well as reflective print inside the hood showing the BikeHood logo. It has a bike-friendly fit, with a longer cut in the sleeves and body.
The hoodie also has a front pouch pocket and a secret iPod pocket, the latter incorporated after some discussion about whether it might encourage unsafe cycling. In the end, after consulting with cycling instructors, it was decided to retain that feature, with the National Cycling Manual suggesting that riders try cycling while listening to music so they can discover just how important it is to look around while on their bikes.
Glowinski says, however, “I prefer that you just have one ear in, or simply wait until you’re walking around in your adaptable Hoodie.”
Some 300 hoodies were sourced from an ethical factory in Turkey, initially available only to residents of the borough, with girls of school age getting priority, the hoodies are now available on general sale at a price of £40, and can be ordered through the Ana Nichoola website.
Genuinely puzzled as to how you've extrapolated that from what I said. Care to explain?
If we can't have a debate over whether TNT shouldn't be allowed to take over cycling coverage and charge five times more for it, can we have a...
The issue is we just end up with wider vehicles parked on the road because they won't fit the garage *, and it being more likely that drivers will...
He is up against the global trading system, which has obviously been in the news a lot lately. Framebuilders in other countries can undercut him,...
Stouport residents bemoan huge traffic queues through town...
Some kind of lens cleaner apparently
The trailer seems to connect to both ends of the rear axle. Can it do tight corners without dragging the tyre sideways?
Motorists have always been unkind to cyclists, but distracted driving is adding to the problem....
Have you owned Bont shoes? In my experience even the widest Lake shoes have had a bizarre form of narrowing way too much in the toe area. But the...
Not sure if this is possible, but this news letter goes out all over the world, and some places like Decathlon does not send stuff to America, in...