Pedalling Towards An Athletic Vision of Tailoring

A Tory team issue cycling kit is Alexander Bagnall’s fun way of fusing sportswear and tailoring for his Central Saint Martins 2nd year project.

What would a cycling team owned by the Conservative British government look like? The answer has been imagined and actualised by Alexander Bagnall for his menswear tailoring project.

Bagnall, a cyclist and runner himself has competed in many cycling competitions and run multiple marathons. He has a keen interest in sportswear and how it is created. Hence, when tasked with the project he gave himself the challenge of infusing tailoring into performance activewear.

“I had to reimagine what tailoring means to me because it is bad practice to use an overlocker as it increases bulk in coats, but it works for sportswear,” he explained.

He created a 4-piece collection which included a tory team issue cycling jersey, a Victorian inspired waistcoat, a raglan overcoat and a pair of bib shorts. Bib shorts are cycling shorts that are held up by a bib instead of an elastic waistband. They help reduce discomfort of a cyclist by helping keep the rider cool and by significantly reducing tightness and chaffing.

The conservative party cycling team issue kit designed by Alexander Bagnall for his tailoring project.

Aesthetically, he wanted it to look like something the government would support with hidden jokes and meanings that upon close observation, one realises the pieces have been created to make fun of the government. Bagnall designed graphics and prints, re-imagining witty ideas for sponsors and a team logo. The Conservative Party also known colloquially as the Tory Party, has recently been under fire for breaking rules and laws that they set. This was a big inspiration point for the collection which included a “save the date” print inspired by the infamous story that alleged a weekly "wine-time Fridays" event was scheduled into the electronic calendars of around 50 staff in Number 10 between 4pm and 7pm throughout the COVID pandemic. There is also an Uxbridge Cheese print inspired by a photograph published by The Guardian of Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Symonds with staff members drinking wine and eating cheese in the garden of Downing Street in May 2020. The pieces have neon patches for night time visibility and a subverted English flag was created as a team logo.

“The English flag can at times signify very negative things and it’s a symbol I’m not really proud of. I wanted to play on the fact that some old British colonies have the union jack in the corner of their flags by recreating an English flag with the EU flag in the corner. I also wanted to make visuals that are nice to look at but make fun of Boris Johnson’s recent mishaps,” Bagnall explained.

Union Jack and England flag designs with the EU flag in the corner by Alexander Bagnall. Mirroring the design of many colonial flags but flipping its meaning.

Continuing with the Conservative party theme throughout the collection, the garments were stitched together with a thread that he described as “Tory blue,” highlighting the attention to detail displayed in his project.

Despite a considered visual focus in the collection, the garments were constructed with performance in mind. Bagnall created most of the collection using an overlocker and cover stitch machine with Madeira Aeroflock thread which is an elastic thread for the overlock machine. It is commonly used in sportswear due to it’s high levels of elasticity and sliding properties as well as it’s durability even when put under stress. The cycling kit was created using a fabric blend of elastane, polyester and nylon which gives it favourable properties including advanced breathability, aerodynamics and elasticity. Chest pieces were made with canvas to create a more structured shape. Shoulder pads were added to the jersey to give the appearance of a professional Tour de France cyclist who typically has broad and muscular shoulders.

Despite his initial struggles merging the worlds of cycling and tailoring, the end product was a humorous commentary on the state of the current administration, which has been a complete joke.