Ever since Giro Creative Director Eli Atkins discovered a book of fascinating black-and-white patterns on his first day with the company, he’s been kind of obsessed with the man behind them. That man’s name is Hironori Yasuda, he’s a Tokyo-based artist and designer, and he unknowingly lit a fire across the ocean that burned for more than 20 years — ultimately leading to one of the most eye-popping mountain and road bike gear releases we’ve ever seen.
Dubbed, appropriately, the Yasuda Collection, it came to life after Atkins traveled across the planet to actually meet Yasuda, who over the years has produced a series of SPATS books, hundreds of patterns inspired by everyday sights that are free for any designer to use. Atkins, who now owns several of the books, sat with him for a few hours, then used a pattern he recommended as the basis for this capsule of helmets, gloves, shoes and apparel.
See a few of our favorite selections from this gorgeous collection below, then check out the behind-the-scenes video at the bottom and the full 16-piece set. We’re not quite sure how to describe the geometric, string-painted fusion in action here, but we dare say Mr. Atkins’ journey was worth it.
Montaro MIPS Helmet by Giro $160
