Cycling and Creativity: Rémi Clermont

Ride & Create: Rémi Clermont

Rémi Clermont is the co-founder and creative director of Café du Cycliste. 11 years after the launch of the first collection, which consisted of a pair of shorts and two jerseys, Rémi is still at the heart of every collection. Creativity requires constant renewal of one’s ideas and perspectives, and here Rémi speaks about the design process and the vital role his own cycling experience plays.

How did the idea of creating bicycle clothes come to you?

I found that what existed on the market did not meet my own expectations of what cycling clothing should be, and didn’t satisfy my own vision of cycling culture. But I didn’t start life as an apparel designer. I started from zero without any idea of how to take a garment from the idea phase to creating a prototype.

And today, is the process a bit easier?

Now I have a team of specialists working with me to create our products. The collection size is no longer three pieces and is expanding every year. But I still have to conjure up and transmit the initial ideas for designs.

How do you continue to generate ideas, and create new designs?

It is essentially based on observation and problem solving. You observe and assimilate many things and you reinterpret this in your own way, differently from others.

Do you still enjoy designing?

It's satisfying to start with an idea and bring that original concept to life after working it out and formalising its creation. This process could satisfy me without the product being a commercial success. But when our customers buy what I have imagined and created, it means that they share your vision and that they believe in it too.

That is really gratifying, especially when you're creating things that are different from anything else. You could quite easily create a performance jersey and use the tried and tested approach, but there are thousands of them. If it works it's not really a surprise. But when you innovate, you think outside the box and you go in a direction that isn't obvious at first glance and your creation “speaks” to people, that is really when the satisfaction arrives.

What personal qualities do you think help you design?

Observation. I like to scrutinize and watch everything that happens around me. And I would say a strong resistance to conformity, I am truly terrified at the idea of doing things like everyone else, I don't know where it comes from, it's almost a sickness.

What are the best conditions for you to create new concepts?

Alone, quiet, without any interaction with anyone. But to do this, you must first be nourished by interactions with many people, and many things: travel, enrich yourself with experiences of all kinds, watch sport, play sport, try new things. The difficulty is that design is not my only occupation, running a business and everyday life catches up with you and I often find myself far from the space I need to really create.

How long have you been cycling?

Since I was a kid. I kayaked at a high-level and I always trained on a bike, I would say since the age of 15.

Do you find time to ride now?

I go out about three or four times a week for pretty short rides of 35 to 70 kilometres. I ride in the mountains, it's not necessarily where I'm the strongest but it's where it's the most beautiful. I love the mountains.

Do you remember any specific ideas or solutions that came to you on the bike?

Not precisely. I would say the on-the-bike solutions are not usually about details like where a zip goes or a specific question such as should a jersey be blue or green. But more about the philosophy of a collection. The brain expands as your body works harder, and inspiration comes, or you suddenly, almost subconsciously, make a link or observation, a revelatory moment. I’m sure there are other ways to reach these moments and find these connections, but for me a climb up Col d’Eze at can help me discover ideas beyond the office.

Do you think there is a connection between cycling and creativity?

As I said it’s difficult for someone who runs a business to get away from it all and find half an hour where you’re not on the phone, where no one is asking you questions. On the bike you leave everything aside. I go out alone between noon and two (usually testing products) and that's when I have ideas and time to think.

I often look for ideas on my computer like everyone else. But it comes by itself on the bike, precisely because you’re not searching for it. Your mind focuses in a different way, and opens up like the road ahead. It removes you from the world but also from the problem of finding ideas and creating at all costs. It relaxes your mind and creates more flow.

Take for instance climbing a pass. Climbing is never easy. When I endure pain as I ride up Col d'Eze (my favourite lunch ride), if the brain disconnects from the physical difficulty and it starts to dream, it's a double benefit: you save yourself 15 minutes of suffering and there is a good chance that you will unconsciously work on a solution or an idea. This is when you enter the zone which can lead to a creative solution.

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