Brooks England & The Royal College of Art Collaboration

As a designer, I’m always fascinated by brands that reinvent and extend their product lines. Brooks England, the famous maker of cycling seats and leather goods, brought in designer Ben Wilson and his students from The Royal College of Art and gave them a design brief: “What would Mr. Brooks do next if he was alive today?”

Amos Field-Reid demonstrated the multiple functions of a range of moulded leather bags, designed and developed with the saddle in mind.

“Brooks founder John Boultbee Brooks was a genuine inventor, innovator and businessman. After founding his company in 1866, he explored the manufacturing of hundreds of successful products, from the renowned leather saddles to bicycle and motorcycle bags, car trunks and suitcases, as well as shoes and oilskin clothing.”
– brooks england

Seula Choi showed the leather hand wrap, one of the many designs developed to protect the cyclist’s hands.

“Brooks managers were presented with the product concepts and prototypes, and tasked with selecting those for further development…Selected products are being manufactured by Brooks and soon will be available in selected Brooks retailers worldwide.”

Lasse Oiva illustrated his dual function bike cover, which can be worn by the cyclist as a rain cape.