French/Dutch designer Julie Thissen has conceived The Cyclist, a series of bags developed especially for urban cyclist that perfectly combine practicality, elegance and safety. On the front/lower part of all three bags, ribbons of retro-reflective material are woven into the bag’s surface. This woven pattern gives its unique appearance to the collection. But this pattern also has a safety function: the retro-reflective material lights-up at night under the front lights of passing cars, making the cycler more visible to surrounding traffic.
All three bags of the collection are designed to fit the busy everyday life of urban cyclists. The starting point of the project is the wish for the bags to fulfill three requests which at first seem almost contradictory. First, the bags should be very practical, also while riding a bike. Second, they should at the same time also be elegant enough to be taken for instance to work. And last but not least, they should help to improve the safety of the cyclists while on the road.
all images © EMILE KIRSCH