Kat Graham's Jelenew Cannes Red Carpet Look Pushes Pro Cycling Wear

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Jul 08, 2022, 16:48 ET

American haute couture cycling brand Jelenew, making more women love cycling

WILMINGTON, Del., July 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, American actress Kat Graham appeared on the red carpet of the 75th Cannes Film Festival wearing a mix of Jelenew professional cycling pants and Stephane Rolland, which caused a buzz in the field of fashion and sports technology. For a while, Jelenew and professional cycling pants were highly sought after by the public, and KOLs and KOCs scrambled to post-professional cycling pants shapes on social platforms such as ins, leading the trend of professional cycling pants. Professional cycling pants can improve riding comfort and make many women fall in love with the "hip-lifting" effect.

Kat Graham in Jelenew cycling pants and Stéphane Rolland haute couture, attends the closing ceremony red carpet for the 75th annual Cannes film festival (PRNewsfoto/Jelenew)

The History of Women's Cycling

The original source of the name of cycling pants is "the pants worn by their court knights." Originally the pants were designed for men, and it wasn't until 1896 that the first woman wore them. The history of cycling pants is tied to the history of women's use of bicycles in pursuit of equality.

The bicycle proved to be one of the most effective tools for women's empowerment as it democatized. It gives women the freedom to travel and opens up new horizons. However, some inherent social concepts have limited the development of female bicycle travel. These were the inventions of men who, for example, claimed that the bicycle would disrupt the established social order: "It allows women to move around the whole neighborhood without restrictions, which is dangerous for the patriarchal system," Thierry Paquot said. Finally, some doctors at the time claimed that bicycle use led to inappropriate sexual behavior in women.

We must admit that men still dominate today's cycling world. However, for women, bicycles are not only a means of transportation, fitness, and entertainment but also a "key" to freedom and independence. Bicycles have played a pivotal role in women's pursuit of equality.

In 1896, a high-wheeled bicycle with a large front wheel and a small rear wheel swept Europe. However, because the bicycle was too tall, even men couldn't handle it well, and they often fell, and European women in long skirts at the time couldn't try it. In 1888, the inventor adjusted the front and rear wheels of the bicycle and invented the safety bicycle. This safety bike has the same size front and rear wheels and looks a lot like today's bikes. Unlike high-wheeled bicycles, its inclined beam design and safe and lightweight construction make it easy for women to ride on the bicycle.

In 1983, Frances Willard, the leader of America's largest women's group, decided to try cycling. She trained herself for a week to maintain sufficient physical strength, strengthen leg strength and balance, etc. In November of the same year, she officially tried cycling and became the first woman in the world to ride a bicycle. She also wrote a book called Wheel Within a Wheel to get more women to ride bikes. The book mentioned that "women want to change their social status, they need to do something that has never been done before, and go to the unknown and wider world. It is not difficult to ride a bicycle, as long as you keep a clear head, steady hands, and strong double legs. This sport can give us a healthy body." Since then, more and more women have begun to cycle, and some European women have even traveled worldwide on bicycles. Some of them have organized cycling clubs and often carry out cycling activities.

At the time, bicycles gave women freedoms they never had before, and thousands of women took to the streets on their bikes. But they were still bound by their clothing, and their wide skirts became a hindrance to cycling. So they all shortened their skirts and changed their petticoats to bloomers. Subsequently, fashion designers designed a kind of loose trousers suitable for cycling, officially introducing trousers into the field of women's fashion. This caused a great shock at the time, but the tide of history is irreversible. Women also began to appear on the professional cycling scene, and at the time, women's cycling was even more popular than men's. As a result, female athletes' income has become increasingly considerable, and cycling has brought significant changes to women.

In 1985, the British writer Louis said, "The wheel of freedom represents a new dawn. Women can feel their true independence. They begin to focus on cycling, exercising, reading, and enriching their souls." Feminism Author Susan Brownnell Anthony also commented: "The bicycle is a 'free machine' that liberates women more than anything else because it gives women a sense of freedom and independence." That same year, the National American Woman Suffrage Association was formed, and they biked through the city, lobbying for women's suffrage. The association's founder said: "Bicycles liberate women from their inherent family life. We must ride bicycles to open the door to women's suffrage!"

Today, cycling still plays an essential role in women's empowerment. For example, World Bicycle Relief donated 50,000 bicycles to African students, 70 percent of which went to girls. If girls can bike to school, they can get an education. Afghanistan has a national women's cycling team where women can achieve independence and break gender barriers. In Iraq, Iran, and Syria, women often ride bicycles, challenging the traditional regulations of conservative cultures, breaking the shackles, and protesting against social discrimination against women cycling.

The rise of the women's sports market has helped Jelenew create clothing with sports functions and haute couture aesthetics, making more women fall in love with cycling.

The rise of women's sports in recent years has made women not satisfied with simply surviving in the men's sports market, and they need a more professional market to meet their needs. The women's sports market is quietly rising. In 2021, the American professional cycling brand Jelenew was established to " make more women fall in love with cycling." This is an American professional cycling brand for women and the world's first high-definition professional cycling brand. It is the first to introduce haute couture into the R&D and design of professional cycling apparel, creating apparel that combines athletic performance and haute couture aesthetics. As the world's first high-definition professional cycling brand, Jelenew's products are no less than other market leaders in sports performance and technology. Haute couture technology allows the jersey to fit the rider's body better, reducing wind resistance during riding.

The founding team of Jelenew is made up of a group passionate about cycling. Among the members are luxury haute couture designers, senior cycling enthusiasts, and digital technology experts. They came together because of their love for cycling, with a sense of mission of "making more women fall in love with cycling," and hoped to use Jelenew to give full play to their professional advantages. When they paid attention to the fact that traditional cycling pads are very unfriendly to women in terms of physical health, function, and beauty, and there is much room for optimization, they developed a five-point V-shaped pad according to women's body structure and the needs of riding.

Compared with the traditional cycling pad, Jelenew designed the seat cushion into a five-point V-shaped distribution design according to the physiological characteristics of female genitalia and the force during riding. The critical stress points, such as the upper parts, are thickened to protect the key stress regions when women ride. This new type of riding seat cushion can increase the cushioning effect, diffuse the pressure distribution, effectively reduce the pressure and discomfort during riding, reduce the risk of numbness in the buttocks and legs, and improve blood circulation. It will bring a healthy and comfortable riding experience to female cyclists. In addition, Jelenew will also apply the clothing technology in high fashion to the design of cycling equipment, making them more beautiful while maintaining excellent functionality, and visually bringing a better riding experience, makes more people fall in love with cycling.

Women are becoming increasingly important in cycling, and we also hope that more and more cycling brands like Jelenew that care about women will appear and contribute to better women's cycling.

SOURCE Jelenew