Is it possible to recreate a casual clothing line inspired by motorsport? We asked Gabriele Pedone, CEO of Racing Spirit, the clothing brand of the Racing Force Group, which already includes iconic motorsport brands such as OMP and Bell.
Can you tell us the story of Racing Spirit and how the idea of founding this clothing brand came about?
The story began in 2012 by a nice coincidence when, as OMP, we recreated with costume designers the suits of the drivers who participated in the 1976 championship for the production of the film "Rush", directed by Ron Howard.
Towards the end of the production, given the success we were having with the suits and helmets, we were asked if we could also produce some garments for the mechanics in the movie: this is where we started the Racing Spirit project, which, in 2018, was then transformed into a company dedicated to motorsport-inspired clothing.
In your opinion, what is it about Racing Spirit garments that make them stand out from others on the market?
There's a huge choice of fabrics and fabric technologies on the market, but no one has ever considered or developed this aspect with a dedicated brand in the motorsport sector. We have applied those technologies and our experience from motorsport to create this brand of technical yet casual clothing that would meet the needs of our consumers.
Are you planning to create a clothing line that is not so much casual, but more elegant and that follows the fashion world, or do you prefer to stay on the more casual style at the moment?
At the moment we want to focus on what we do well and what we understand well, which is motorsport, so obviously, the next step is to expand our target audience but to create sportswear, not fashion. We feel closer to brands like Patagonia, North Face, Colmar, North Sails, and Quicksilver rather than to pure fashion brands like Stone Island, Napapijri, or AlphaTauri.
What are your short-term objectives in terms of brand strategy and how do you intend to position yourself in the market?
The short-term goal is to further establish ourselves in the motorsport industry. We tell a true story, our brand is born from two established motorsport brands: Bell, born in 1954, and OMP, born in 1973.
We want to build on our heritage, make Racing Spirit even more recognizable in our world, and then move out of this sector to hit a wider target audience with inspirational sportswear.
As a company, we focus a lot on our WHY: we are passionate about the sport, we are highly involved in the sport and we want to turn all the experiences motorsport has given us into something new. As in motorsport, where everything is well planned and detailed, our products are designed down to the smallest detail to ensure that our consumers get great performance with highly functional and aesthetically pleasing products.
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