MEAME

Regular readers of Vamper will know that we’re big fans of super chic, super clever urban cycling brand MEAME. Now, the brand – founded by Islington-based husband and wife team Megan Aylott and Steven Azancot – is crowdfunding to take this stylish cycling brand to the next level.

The MEAME crowdfunding project is live on Crowdcube and the investment opportunity is open for another 13 days.

Central St Martins graduate Megan and designer Steven created MEAME after spotting a gap in the market for functional but beautiful cycle clothing for the city commuter.

We’re at an exciting stage of the business, and I’d love the community to join us on the journey. MEAME are at the seed stage and with backing we can grow into something beautiful developing innovations that complement our everyday life.

Megan’s background as a graduate from the renowned fashion school Central Saint Martins, coupled with Steven’s experience as a keen cyclist and designer, has enabled the couple to develop and establish a striking portfolio of beautiful and timeless pieces which draw on a heritage of British tailoring with high functionality and cutting edge textile technology.

MEAME’s quintessentially British styling with urban flare is disrupting the performance and active wear market. In taking a fresh direction in this burgeoning sector, the brand promises to continue innovating in the field, with exciting new developments ahead.

MEAME are offering the public and brand supporters an opportunity to be part of their success through crowdfunding. Co-founders Megan and Steven are sharing their #MEAMEfuture with their customers and community, inviting them to join what will be an exciting growth journey.

Money raised through crowdfunding will accelerate MEAME’s progress by expanding the range of apparel on offer and allowing Megan and Steven to continue developing new and innovative technologies.

If you would like to be a part of the #meamefuture – which we’re sure is a bright one – you can view the crowdfunding campaign here: Crowdcube

MEAME have also created a short film for their crowdfunding drive, which you can view here: Vimeo 

For more information about the brand, visit MEAME where you can view their current range of Performance Fashion clothing, or follow MEAME and #meamefuture on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

This week, we’re talking to urban cyclewear designer Megan Aylott, founder of MEAME. Megan designs beautiful, classic tailoring with innovative fabrics and features. The result is high performance, luxury cycling apparel with timeless styling and cutting edge materials. We’re big fans.

We did some training rides for the Prudential with Megan, and in a last minute change of plans, she even rode a bicycle from the Vamper stable… Surely the ultimate justification for the N+1 rule is being able to help out a friend in crisis?

1. What inspired you to move into the world of cycling apparel? What influence does your fashion background have on the way you approach cycle clothing through MEAME?

After the Boris Bikes came out, I started to enjoy commuting in the city in a different way (finally off stuffy tubes and buses) so Steven, my husband, encouraged me to start cycling and bought me my first bike in London – and first bike since I was a teenager!

After arriving at meetings dripping wet, and worried about how visible I was I started looking for something suitable. The obvious choice is a hi-vis, but they aren’t exactly flattering… Stylish and sophisticated waterproof jackets, that would work all day long whatever I was doing, didn’t seem to exist. After finding out more people felt the same this prompted Steven and I to start a performance fashion brand that worked for cycling, work and beyond. MEAME was born.

My fashion background aids the way I approach functional clothing mainly through styling and quality. Clothing doesn’t have to look like sportswear to perform well. We wanted to develop a sophisticated range that is versatile come rain or shine, night or day.

2. What sort of cycling makes you happy? Where do you like to go?

I like lots of different cycling, but firstly commuting around London is great. Discovering new routes you don’t normally see and having more freedom in such a congested city is liberating.

But since training for the Prudential ride I’ve really started to enjoy road cycling around the countryside, too. It’s nice to escape the city, see some great scenery and reflect.

It’s really nice to ride around Yorkshire, partly because it’s close to where I grew up and because it’s just beautiful. Hilly, green and quiet, then when I’m staying with my parents I get home from a ride and dinner is cooked a wonderful change to a busy life in London.

3. If you could go for a bike ride with anyone at all, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

I think Victoria Pendleton would be great to cycle with: she’s an incredible cyclist, and the way she has fought her way through tough times is very inspiring. She’s a wonderful role model to encourage girls into sports.

For comedy value…

Liberace. I just think it would be hilarious. I mean, can you imagine what he would wear? A fur coat, a glittery suit… It would just be so impractical I’d laugh all the way round.

4. What is the best thing about being involved in the cycling industry in 2016?

Well, it’s our first year live, so the best thing has been meeting customers at cycling trade shows and getting such a great response to the MEAME brand and clothing. The feedback is so important, and will affect the way we develop our next range.

5. What cycling trends do you think will be big in the next 12 months?

I don’t really follow cycling trends or sportswear trends. Personally, I am influenced by everything around me, and fashion and art. I then integrate technical fabrics and features to make performance fashion tailored for city cyclists.

On an inkling. .. I’d say bold monochrome graphic patterns.

6. What song is guaranteed to get you in the mood for a ride, no matter what time you went to bed?

Faithless, I can’t get no sleep. Or…. My Sherona, by the Knack.

7. What has been your cycling highlight of 2016 so far?

I set myself a challenge this year to do something I’m not used to. With MEAME being a city cycling brand, The Prudential Ride London seemed an obvious choice! I’ve never been an endurance rider, never craved riding up hills with joy and definitely never ridden 100 miles. So it was a real challenge, and the training (which I didn’t do enough of!) was really rewarding. The event was such a great day – so many people raising money in such good spirit, and so much support from the public. I loved riding past an old folks home where they were all out with the nurses cheering us on. It kept people pedalling, it was brilliant.

8. And finally: what’s in store for MEAME? What can we expect to see from you in the coming year?

We’re developing our next range right now, so you can expect to see more lifestyle choices. We’ll be developing more technical clothing that works for everyday to make life more comfortable – and of course, without sacrificing style!

We’re currently doing a survey to get a better idea of what people want and how they would like to see the range develop. After all, we’re designing it for the undercover athletes that is in all of us.

For overly competitive types who feel the need to get everywhere fast (looking at you, Matt!) there’s value in reminding yourself that actually, cycling can just be a way to relax and get around; that not every journey needs to be a race. We spent some time over the bank holiday weekend sporting the beautiful MEAME Altair Biker Jacket and Alpha Reflective Tweed Blazer and enjoyed a gentler pace in the spring sunshine.

London-based premium cycling brand MEAME was founded by Central St Martin’s graduate Megan Aylott who has brought high-end fashion design to the world of commuter cycling apparel. Incorporating highly technical fabrics and clever design features to make the life of a bicycle commuter that little bit easier and a whole lot smarter, we believe the MEAME collection is far and away the most stylish urban cycling apparel on the market.

Victoria – MEAME Altair Biker Jacket

I’ve been wearing the MEAME Altair Biker Jacket and I’m in love. I’ll run through the technical details shortly, but from a purely aesthetic perspective, it’s gorgeous. Now, as far as sizing goes, think European; it’s pretty small. I’m wearing size Large which is a size up from my usual, and there isn’t much room to squeeze in extra layers. But the cut is wonderful, and the Altair is pleasingly nipped in at the waist for a lovely feminine shape. Even allowing for my ‘freakishly long torso’ – the kind words tactfully spoken to me by a radiologist ten years ago – the jacket is plenty long enough in the body.

The MEAME Altair Biker Jacket is impeccably tailored from a breathable Italian stretch fabric which incorporates a waterproof membrane. It’s fully taped to ensure seams are watertight, and the zips are water repellent, too. MEAME takes the British climate seriously: the jacket also incorporates an extending rain guard with a reflective MEAME logo to keep your bum dry. It’s not all about being prepared for terrible weather, mind. The Altair Biker Jacket also features underarm zips which you can open for ventilation when the mercury rises (or when you’re late for work). Better still, the sleeves can be fully detached so that you can wear the jacket as a gilet (which looks amazing).

It features pleated shoulder panels for ease-of-movement on the bike and reversible detailing on the cuffs and breast pocket flap which are reflective for visibility at night.

 

So: there you have it: an extremely chic jacket which looks great off the bike, and also features water resistance, breathability, versatility and reflectivity. Now, this isn’t a jacket for tough rides. This isn’t something to wear when you intend working up a sweat, or when the weather’s just ghastly. But if you cycle to a smart place of work where you’d look out of place in Endura, or if you want to be able to wear the same jacket you wore to cycle in for after work drinks in a chic bar, you’re covered. MEAME have nailed it with the Altair Biker Jacket.

 

Matt – MEAME Alpha Reflective Tweed Blazer

I suppose my problem is that I’m no good at doing stuff just for fun. If it’s not competitive and backed up by gadgets and statistics that let me see who I’ve beaten, then it feels a bit pointless. So when it comes to cycling at a gentle pace in nice clothes, sans-Garmin, I find myself wondering what it’s all for. But then Victoria gives me a lecture about how life isn’t always a competition, about how sometimes, we just need to take time to appreciate our surroundings, and that she doesn’t want to meet our non-cycling friends at the pub in head-to-toe Lycra.

I take her point: even I can admit that the sight of a (not quite) middle aged man in tights at lunch is off putting.

If there’s a time and a place for elegant cycling apparel, a Surrey gastro pub is probably it.

MEAME sent me the Alpha Reflective Tweed Blazer to try. The menswear sizing seems pretty true: I’m wearing my usual size Medium and it’s spot on. In daylight, the fabric is subtle and classically British; ideal with dark denim for lunch with friends. But what impresses me is the way it glows in headlights when dark falls – the reflective fibres in the Herringbone weave are really effective. We were fortunate to be wearing the jackets in good weather, but the fabric also has a Teflon water repellent finish in case you’re caught in a shower (which, let’s face it, is always a possibility in the UK).

I wasn’t too sure a jacket like this would be very wearable on a road bike – the tailoring looks more suited to a sit-up-and-beg style – but the pleated shoulder panels actually give a lot of flexibility. And the natural temperature regulation afforded by wool coupled with subtle under-arm ventilation eyelets means it’s comfortable to wear – though, as Victoria said, these are not jackets to wear on long, sweaty rides. I’m not going to wear this up Leith Hill; it’s for shorter or slower rides where you want to look sharp at your destination.

 

The jackets are available from Meame.co.uk. The Altair Biker Jacket the Alpha Reflective Tweed Blazer are both priced at £295.