In our eco-conscious times, bicycles are the coolest way to get around town. They’ve also become a must-have prop in stylish shops (Brunello Cucinelli put one in a summer window display and was inundated with enquiries), and a host of fashion brands – Chanel, Armani, Fendi and Dolce & Gabbana among them – have stamped their DNA onto their own two-wheelers.
Now there’s Lorenzo Martone (ex-fiancé of Marc Jacobs). When he moved into a new apartment, the bike he owned simply didn’t live up to the aesthetic standards of the interior – but nothing on the market met his needs. And so he and a friend set up the Martone Cycling Company specifically to add a fashionable touch to this old-school mode of transport. The result is a classic-looking bike with a bright red chain (£795, first picture), which comes in gold, silver, red, white and black, and has a basket big enough to hold a gym kit, groceries and a dog. It has an innovative duomatic hub with two gears that change automatically as your riding speed alters and stainless-steel spokes, but its main claim to fame is that it just looks so good. If I tell you that it is stocked in Paris by Colette, in the UK by The Conran Shop, and that Karl Lagerfeld owns two, you will understand why it is described as a “personal style statement”.
Very beautiful, too, are the bikes made by Erenpreiss, a small workshop in Latvia. It began by restoring vintage models, but three years ago Tom Erenpreiss, the great-great nephew of the founder, started making new city bikes that are lightweight, elegant and durable with a classic retro look. Made in Riga, each one is individually numbered. The Paula (£550, third picture), the luxe version for women, is the one I like best. It has a three-speed rear hub, cream paintwork, a proper leather saddle and a five-year warranty. It’s available from Baltic Bicycle Company and Gift Library.
Then there’s Hermès, which currently sells a stainless-steel Dutch Batavus bicycle (£3,350, second picture), to which it has added an Hermès flourish by swathing the frame, handles and seats in a supple, grained leather called Taurillon Clemence, in shades from dark brown to bright orange. Whereas the current design has a slightly retro aesthetic, later in the year a spanking-new model is coming out, which will be just as luxurious but with an utterly contemporary aesthetic.
