Designing a movement
Pas Normal Studios’ road to an inclusive cycling community
Words: Camilla Belton
Photography: Pas Normal Studios and Jonas Bie
For generations, cycling apparel has been characteristically bright primary colours and romantic serif logos that nod nostalgically to a ‘golden age’ of cycling. In this busy technicolour vernacular, Pas Normal Studios is well, not normal. “A core pillar of our DNA is the colours; they have always been my cornerstone,” says Karl-Oskar Olsen, co-founder and creative director. “I like to use colours and tones that reflect our northern part of Europe and evoke a certain seriousness.” Such is Olsen’s dedication to his earthy palette that you can recognise Pas Normal Studios’ riders in the distance without even seeing a logo.
Olsen was born into a traditional Danish cycling family. His father was a talented amateur racer and his brother, Peter Olsen, was on the Swedish national team in the 1980s. Art was ubiquitous too; Olsen loved to draw and grew up surrounded by his mother’s left-wing propaganda posters and social realist motifs. When he was 13, she gave him a book called ‘Subway Art’ and a pack of markers and encouraged him to keep drawing. “That book started a whole new platform in my life. I was sucked into this creative stimulus; sketching, painting graffiti and tapping into a subculture. It wasn’t just about making art; it was about how you looked and what sort of music you listened to. The whole thing shaped me and still defines me today because being a graffiti artist means you need to keep pushing to be relevant, to be part of the culture.”
Olsen co-founded the company with his friend and fellow cyclist, Peter Lange, in Copenhagen in 2015. However, the stimulus to create technical cycling clothing that speaks to a new generation started before then: “Peter and I made a kit for ourselves and four of our friends and the six of us went to a race in France. It was very simple, charcoal grey with no big logos but so many people asked us where they could buy it. We hadn’t even started the company at this point.
“We decided we’d try to produce the kit, but we didn’t have any money, so we sent a drawing to 100 friends in our cycling community asking for prepayment and the clothing would be delivered in three months. Then 100 people in Copenhagen started riding in it and that was how it started.” Olsen puts the snowball effect of that first kit down to colour and fit. “It was extremely tight-fitting, more than anything on the market. I’d always wanted to create something that made you feel like you’re wearing a tailored suit. You put it on, and you immediately feel special because it’s made only for you. I think our approach to fit and colour just spoke to people.”
Pas Normal Studios reflects Olsen’s own Danish design tradition which is both classic and avant-garde. Technically the clothing is pared back to its absolute essentials. “Cyclists are very demanding. To be on the level we want to be on, we need to make sure our fit is super aerodynamic, wind-tunnel tested and lasts for a very long time. The quality needs to be such that you can wash it a couple of hundred times and not notice any difference, so the form really follows the function. Our design rules are more-or-less built around this modernist way of thinking.” This focus on quality and function is combined with a visual approach of using patterns and colours that define contemporary culture, reflecting a moment in time while thoughtfully considered to remain timeless. “I’m always trying to build a bridge between art, music and design, and put it into the framework of a cycling jersey”.
Through their singular commitment to define modern cycling in a different context, Karl-Oskar and Peter have built something extraordinary: a community of dedicated cyclists that stretches across the globe. Its International Cycling Club organises rides from Montréal to Manila, each one seamlessly supported and beautifully documented through photography and film. “When we started the company, we knew we had the product. What was missing was communicating the actual experience in a way that’s modern that speaks to people, even those who don’t cycle. I don’t know how many times people have told me they have started cycling because of what we do. So, we’ve been strategic in telling those stories.”
Reflecting on why the company and community has grown so exponentially, Olsen remains pleasantly mystified. “I have to say, I don’t understand how it’s grown so big. When we opened a store in Singapore of all places, 400 people came at six o’clock in the morning in Pas Normal Studios clothes! We were on the other side of the planet and here are people tapping into what we do. It was just amazing. We recently did a ride from Bangkok to Chang Mai and people came from New Zealand, Taiwan, China and Australia to ride together in a completely new country. They come as strangers and leave as friends, it’s super inspiring.”
In a traditionally cliquey sport, this intentional inclusivity sets Pas Normal Studios apart. “For many people, cycling is super intimidating. There’s a lot to learn – getting the right gear, finding the routes – and until five or six years ago, there weren’t really any communities in cycling as such. There were clubs where you had to be a member and have a jersey, but nothing for amateur riders. I took a lot of inspiration from urban running clubs and now cycling has evolved from being a working man’s sport to something completely different.” With stores across the globe, plenty more on the horizon, and legions of worldwide devotees, Olsen puts it all down to the magic of cycling. “Whether you’re an art director or a plumber, when we’re out there on the bike, we’re all the same. We all feel the pain, we all get the wind and rain in our face, and we all reflect on the landscape we ride through. The journey is way more relevant than the destination, and this is what ties people together.”
