ON DUCATIS, RUBYS, AND WOMEN RIDERS

Karl Lagerfeld has once again drawn on the allure of a vintage motorcycle for Chanel's advertising.  Last Spring he used the amazing 'Chanel' Triton  as a prop in his short and quizzical film about , it seemed, the joy of shoplifting Chanel clothes on a cool bike (see the video here).

Yesterday in Paris, Keira Knightley was spotted on a rolling rig, 'riding' a '74 Ducati 750 Sport, which had been painted tan to match her suede catsuit and Ruby helmet.  While the Duc's tan paint job made me lose my Chianti, I was curious about the color of the helmet, so spoke with Jerôme Coste of Les Ateliers Ruby, who explained:

                                       (note Keira's body double in the background)

"Regarding the Chanel commercial, I don't know every detail yet, but I can tell you that this helmet is the Ruby 'Belvedere Marceau' from my Autumn-Winter 2009/10 collection. The story is quite funny - at least to me - as this helmet with its "nude" colour was a tribute to Yves Saint-Laurent's work (the Maison YSL has been for years been located on rue Marceau, hence its name).  It was created beside the 'Pavillon Cambon', named after the long time address of Maison Chanel - but that was a powder pink. Anyway Keira's is a stock helmet, but the story doesn't say if Chanel cut Kiera's suede catsuit and painted the Ducati to match the Ruby helmet nude colour ?!"

By chance, well-known blogger and motorcycle personality Jacqui van Ham (of 'The Vintage Advantage') passed through San Francisco today on a long motorcycle journey from her home in Kentucky to Los Angeles, and back, via Sturges and Bonneville, on her trusty 1972 BMW R75/5 'Toaster Tank'.  Jacqui qualifies as a Real Rider, putting up serious mileage on a vintage motorcycle - solo - and always manages to look great despite the heat, dirt, and bugs of a long ride with an open-face helmet...also a Ruby.  A light bulb went off in my head - wouldn't it be fun to match her black helmet and riding gear with a black 1974 Ducati 750 café racer?

No big crew, nothing to advertise, but Jacqui is a real motorcyclist, who looks terrific with the Ducati.  The Keira Knightley photo shoot will surely become an alluring fantasy in Chanel print ads...

...but Keira can't ride....

...while women who can and do, like Jacqui, rock my world.

[A note on the  black Ducati; its a 1974 750 GT which has been tuned past 'Sport' spec with Venolia pistons and 36mm Dell'Orto carbs, with twin Scarab discs up front, 750 Sport seat, rearsets, clip-ons, controls, and instruments, with a Laverda SFC fairing.  It used to be mine, is an excellent fast roadster, and is currently for sale, contact me if you're interested.

The Chanel bike looks to be an early 750 Sport - ca.'72, with black primary cover - and an SS fairing...painted tan!]

Thanks Jacqui for indulging my inspiration in the middle of your road trip! 

ON DUCATIS, RUBYS, AND WOMEN RIDERS

Karl Lagerfeld has once again drawn on the allure of a vintage motorcycle for Chanel's advertising.  Last Spring he used the amazing 'Chanel' Triton  as a prop in his short and quizzical film about , it seemed, the joy of shoplifting Chanel clothes on a cool bike (see the video here).

Yesterday in Paris, Keira Knightley was spotted on a rolling rig, 'riding' a '74 Ducati 750 Sport, which had been painted tan to match her suede catsuit and Ruby helmet.  While the Duc's tan paint job made me lose my Chianti, I was curious about the color of the helmet, so spoke with Jerôme Coste of Les Ateliers Ruby, who explained:

                                       (note Keira's body double in the background)

"Regarding the Chanel commercial, I don't know every detail yet, but I can tell you that this helmet is the Ruby 'Belvedere Marceau' from my Autumn-Winter 2009/10 collection. The story is quite funny - at least to me - as this helmet with its "nude" colour was a tribute to Yves Saint-Laurent's work (the Maison YSL has been for years been located on rue Marceau, hence its name).  It was created beside the 'Pavillon Cambon', named after the long time address of Maison Chanel - but that was a powder pink. Anyway Keira's is a stock helmet, but the story doesn't say if Chanel cut Kiera's suede catsuit and painted the Ducati to match the Ruby helmet nude colour ?!"

By chance, well-known blogger and motorcycle personality Jacqui van Ham (of 'The Vintage Advantage') passed through San Francisco today on a long motorcycle journey from her home in Kentucky to Los Angeles, and back, via Sturges and Bonneville, on her trusty 1972 BMW R75/5 'Toaster Tank'.  Jacqui qualifies as a Real Rider, putting up serious mileage on a vintage motorcycle - solo - and always manages to look great despite the heat, dirt, and bugs of a long ride with an open-face helmet...also a Ruby.  A light bulb went off in my head - wouldn't it be fun to match her black helmet and riding gear with a black 1974 Ducati 750 café racer?

No big crew, nothing to advertise, but Jacqui is a real motorcyclist, who looks terrific with the Ducati.  The Keira Knightley photo shoot will surely become an alluring fantasy in Chanel print ads...

...but Keira can't ride....

...while women who can and do, like Jacqui, rock my world.

[A note on the  black Ducati; its a 1974 750 GT which has been tuned past 'Sport' spec with Venolia pistons and 36mm Dell'Orto carbs, with twin Scarab discs up front, 750 Sport seat, rearsets, clip-ons, controls, and instruments, with a Laverda SFC fairing.  It used to be mine, is an excellent fast roadster, and is currently for sale, contact me if you're interested.

The Chanel bike looks to be an early 750 Sport - ca.'72, with black primary cover - and an SS fairing...painted tan!]

Thanks Jacqui for indulging my inspiration in the middle of your road trip! 

BUILDING COCO'S CUSTOM

THE CP PROJECT ONE: by Vincent Prat and Frank Charriaut

"What can a featherbed, a Tyrannosaurus Rex & Batman have in common?

Since visiting the Legend of the Motorcycle International Concours d’Elegance in June 2008, French designers Frank Charriaut and Vincent Prat had a dream to built their own Motorcycle. There, they met with the Crème of Motorcycling experts & enthusiasts.

As English Motorcycles fans, Charriaut & Prat chose a Norton Featherbed frame and Triumph 750 unit-construction engine. Of course with this starting point, the only possible goal is to build a Triton.

But they did not want to make just another Café racer or name it Triton; they wanted to make something more personal which could match their cultural backgrounds. That led them to forget all about British bike conventions, and follow their own destiny.

Charriaut & Prat started sketching and quickly discovered what would become the final shape of their bike: a mix of Batman’s motorcycle, a T.Rex fastback, and the overwhelming feeling of Cat Woman’s dreamful body [Julie Newmar - 'dreamful' indeed]. Inspiration came directly from Comics Culture.

The path from designing to manufacturing can be hazardous. The duo was lucky enough to be joined on their project by esteemed motorcycle builder Daniel Delfour, who knew how to read into their CAD drawings, and realize the dream in metal.

Inch by inch, meeting after meeting, working together as a trio, the project gradually became a reality, and the bike was born. A mix of classic, custom, vintage and dirt track style. Some “purists” could say that is a sacrilege, but this project is about Great Fun. The length of the fork tubes! A front wheel without a brake! Big deal: these were just options for more fun!

Frank Charriaut and Vincent Prat want to thank Daniel Delfour for his achievement, Momo from Momo Bikes Service, for the greatest paint job and the exhaust pipes. Finally, the duo wants to send their very special and great thanks to Benoit Gerry from Studio Ze for his outstanding pictures and longtime support"

BUILDING COCO'S CUSTOM

THE CP PROJECT ONE: by Vincent Prat and Frank Charriaut

"What can a featherbed, a Tyrannosaurus Rex & Batman have in common?

Since visiting the Legend of the Motorcycle International Concours d’Elegance in June 2008, French designers Frank Charriaut and Vincent Prat had a dream to built their own Motorcycle. There, they met with the Crème of Motorcycling experts & enthusiasts.

As English Motorcycles fans, Charriaut & Prat chose a Norton Featherbed frame and Triumph 750 unit-construction engine. Of course with this starting point, the only possible goal is to build a Triton.

But they did not want to make just another Café racer or name it Triton; they wanted to make something more personal which could match their cultural backgrounds. That led them to forget all about British bike conventions, and follow their own destiny.

Charriaut & Prat started sketching and quickly discovered what would become the final shape of their bike: a mix of Batman’s motorcycle, a T.Rex fastback, and the overwhelming feeling of Cat Woman’s dreamful body [Julie Newmar - 'dreamful' indeed]. Inspiration came directly from Comics Culture.

The path from designing to manufacturing can be hazardous. The duo was lucky enough to be joined on their project by esteemed motorcycle builder Daniel Delfour, who knew how to read into their CAD drawings, and realize the dream in metal.

Inch by inch, meeting after meeting, working together as a trio, the project gradually became a reality, and the bike was born. A mix of classic, custom, vintage and dirt track style. Some “purists” could say that is a sacrilege, but this project is about Great Fun. The length of the fork tubes! A front wheel without a brake! Big deal: these were just options for more fun!

Frank Charriaut and Vincent Prat want to thank Daniel Delfour for his achievement, Momo from Momo Bikes Service, for the greatest paint job and the exhaust pipes. Finally, the duo wants to send their very special and great thanks to Benoit Gerry from Studio Ze for his outstanding pictures and longtime support"

CHANEL REDUX

Am I psychic? As you can see, timing on the Chanel Triton post was perfect; Chanel have just released a video, 'Vol de Jour' (Flight Days), directed by Karl Lagerfeld himself, using the custom machine, with 'actors' Lara Stone and Baptiste Giacobini cast as shoppers-in-a-hurry.  Our heroes steal the Triton, carrying their helmets on their elbows (and what message are we sending here?  I know, all that hair cost a lot of money...).  Curiously, they abandon the ultra-cool motorcycle outside a Chanel boutique, in order to stuff their logo bags into a microcar driven by an associate.  Plot?  No, but clarity isn't the point, breathless shopping is the point!  And Lara Stone's legs; astounding.

I'm happy to see the motorcycle being used, and the filmmaker does halt a moment to give us an extended glance at the machine.

CHANEL REDUX

Am I psychic? As you can see, timing on the Chanel Triton post was perfect; Chanel have just released a video, 'Vol de Jour' (Flight Days), directed by Karl Lagerfeld himself, using the custom machine, with 'actors' Lara Stone and Baptiste Giacobini cast as shoppers-in-a-hurry.  Our heroes steal the Triton, carrying their helmets on their elbows (and what message are we sending here?  I know, all that hair cost a lot of money...).  Curiously, they abandon the ultra-cool motorcycle outside a Chanel boutique, in order to stuff their logo bags into a microcar driven by an associate.  Plot?  No, but clarity isn't the point, breathless shopping is the point!  And Lara Stone's legs; astounding.

I'm happy to see the motorcycle being used, and the filmmaker does halt a moment to give us an extended glance at the machine.

CHANEL TRITON: KARL'S NEW TOY

Last July the fashion world was abuzz with two sneaked photos (by Stéphane Feugére) of a custom-built Triton being used as a prop for Chanel's press kit for their 2010 Spring collection, 'Starting Point', at their Rue Royale boutique in Paris, during Fashion Week.

While vintage motorcycles are regularly used to give high-fashion advertising a cachet of authenticity, nostalgia, and a little bad-boy chic, the Triton used by Chanel went much farther down the Branding trail than we've ever seen from the houses of haute couture: the motorcycle is Chanel all over, from the large cutout logo on the upswept exhaust heat shield, to much smaller details such as gas caps and fork seal retaining rings, which have been shaped to mimic the current crop of Chanel watch bezels, while the speedo itself looks like a Chanel watch. The address of Coco Chanel's apartment, 31 Rue Cambon, is emblazoned on the Featherbed frame (surrounded by a midnight-with-starry-sky paint job) - perhaps more immediately a reference to the new Chanel magazine of the same name. And 'Chanel' supplants 'Triumph' on the engine cases!

Models Lara Stone and Baptiste Giacobini were draped all over the bike, which they didn't ride (too bad, I hear from it's creators that it sounds great and goes like stink). Karl Lagerfeld, the infamous Creative Director of Chanel, was content to pose near his new motorcycle, which, unfortunately, he has no intention of reproducing. While used as a prop for advertising, the Chanel Triton was built to run... and methinks one day, when an Art Director has barked his shin once too many times on that damn bike, some lucky fellow will indeed take it home and ride it.

In the now-it-can-almost-be-told category, I've added two few further glimpses of the machine, which is built, according to the WWD press on the bike, 'in Toulouse' (which I can confirm), by several gentlemen with great creative and technical skills, whose work has graced the pages of the Vintagent in previous posts. Look for it soon, not in Classic Bike, but on the pages of Vogue.

CHANEL TRITON: KARL'S NEW TOY

Last July the fashion world was abuzz with two sneaked photos (by Stéphane Feugére) of a custom-built Triton being used as a prop for Chanel's press kit for their 2010 Spring collection, 'Starting Point', at their Rue Royale boutique in Paris, during Fashion Week.

While vintage motorcycles are regularly used to give high-fashion advertising a cachet of authenticity, nostalgia, and a little bad-boy chic, the Triton used by Chanel went much farther down the Branding trail than we've ever seen from the houses of haute couture: the motorcycle is Chanel all over, from the large cutout logo on the upswept exhaust heat shield, to much smaller details such as gas caps and fork seal retaining rings, which have been shaped to mimic the current crop of Chanel watch bezels, while the speedo itself looks like a Chanel watch. The address of Coco Chanel's apartment, 31 Rue Cambon, is emblazoned on the Featherbed frame (surrounded by a midnight-with-starry-sky paint job) - perhaps more immediately a reference to the new Chanel magazine of the same name. And 'Chanel' supplants 'Triumph' on the engine cases!

Models Lara Stone and Baptiste Giacobini were draped all over the bike, which they didn't ride (too bad, I hear from it's creators that it sounds great and goes like stink). Karl Lagerfeld, the infamous Creative Director of Chanel, was content to pose near his new motorcycle, which, unfortunately, he has no intention of reproducing. While used as a prop for advertising, the Chanel Triton was built to run... and methinks one day, when an Art Director has barked his shin once too many times on that damn bike, some lucky fellow will indeed take it home and ride it.

In the now-it-can-almost-be-told category, I've added two few further glimpses of the machine, which is built, according to the WWD press on the bike, 'in Toulouse' (which I can confirm), by several gentlemen with great creative and technical skills, whose work has graced the pages of the Vintagent in previous posts. Look for it soon, not in Classic Bike, but on the pages of Vogue.