Final year BA (Hons) Textile Design student Xanthe Bonsall-Towers has designed a new cycling jersey for independent cycling brand We Can Be.
We Can Be, a Newcastle based company specialising in creating distinctive cycling apparel, approached Xanthe after an interaction on social media. With a keen interest in cycle races, and an aesthetic that she felt fit well with her work, Xanthe took up the opportunity with WCB and began to develop her ideas.
The design evolved from an existing print Xanthe had developed based on Victor Pasmore's Apollo Pavilion in Peterlee, which reflects her interest in Modernist architecture and Brutalism. Xanthe’s design for the WCB jersey incorporates shapes taken from the Pavilion and includes the WCB lightning bolt logo, using a vibrant colour palette which is a running theme in her work.
Xanthe told us:
“The experience has been great from start to finish and I'd love to do more work with We Can Be. I am currently working on more cycling kit for a team based in Dubai which has come about because of this collaboration, and also a print for a brand based in London who create waterproof cycling jackets made from recycling plastic bottles. I'm about to start work on my final year project and I'm considering designing a collection for sportswear as it's a market my work obviously fits in to!
I've been in the process of setting up my own business as in independent designer over the past 12 months so it's great to see some of my hard work paying off, and hopefully I can go straight in to building up my business and freelance work after graduation.”
