Brompton Oratory jacket & Cycle Wear- Produced & Designed by Blue Associates 

Brompton are the leading folding commute bike brand in the world and they wanted to expand their range from one bike with a couple of accessories to include a range of performance commute cycle clothing.

We were approached by Brompton’s head of design to help in the launch of this range and were briefed with designing and producing a men’s semi tailored jacket that had enough key features that it could be worn on the bike but still look smart enough to be worn in social and business scenarios.

Because Brompton are a very “English” brand with their bikes still being made in the UK, we decided to replicate this “Englishness” and developed a fabric using traditional corduroy but with a permanent water resistance allowing the jacket to be worn in bad weather. Breathability was also very important so the fabric we developed could not use a waterproof laminate or coating to stop the rain as this would make the wearer sweat too much when cycling to work. The end result was a traditional corduroy fabric that felt and handled like it was untreated but repelled rain for up to an hour and was 100% permanent. It also allowed the jacket to be machine washed as often as needed.