For Fashion Week in New York City, DKNY says to "Explore Your City" on bike. DKNY informs fashionistas of the benefits of cycling by noting New York's high population and flat terrain make it an ideal city for cycling; informing people that May is Bike Month in New York; DKNY stores in NYC are distributing free bike maps.DKNY also will give away what they describe as a "custom folding bike," which turns out to be a Huffy painted in a DKNY color scheme. (Since when did Huffy have folders?)
According to Conde Naste Portfolio, DKNY has also chained about 75 orange bikes around New York City, noting that it's a publicity stunt that's seems to have gone awfully well for DKNY. Why else would DKNY be mentioned by Bike Snob, Streetsblog, Bike Blog, Bike Hugger, Gwadzilla and now even Cyclelicious?
Not all the attention has been positive, with some people thinking it's too much like the ghost bike memorials.
I guess I should point out that none of the female bike commuters I encounter ever look like the fashion models pictured here. They mostly look something like me -- you know: a little bit dorky, wrinkly clothes, wripped and oily pant hems, smelly bike gloves, yellow jacket, helmet hair, a little sweaty -- they just usually have longer hair than me. I sometimes run into sanguine cuties like Emily though, too.
I noticed that second picture while I was looking through my wife's Elle magazine over the weekend. I didn't even notice who the ad was for though. I guess I was just too focused on the picture to read the copy.
ReplyDeletethese ladies would look totally anonymous on the bike lanes of copenhagen...
ReplyDeletezakkalicious is right. I have lived in Amsterdam and one often sees tall, blonde Dutch girls (like the Danish girls in Copenhagen) dressed in business or going-out clothes on their cycles - and men in suits.
ReplyDeleteBut one also sees older - and rather heavier - people of both sexes, and where I was staying, many immigrant Dutch wearing Muslim or African garb on their bicycles.
It is a stunt, and I'm twice the age (and half the height, broader in the beam...) of those models, but it is perfectly possible to do a short commute to work in normal clothing. Usually people ride to work in the early morning, so if you get sweaty, it is usually on the way back home to a shower. (you can simply change your top and "freshen up") upon arrival if you are in a warm climate where the heat comes earlier.