Creative story

Although VitessX Member Max Cavalli and his family have been living outside of Italy for many years (incl. in London UK, New York and now Toronto), his Italian heritage and love for soccer are as strong as ever. Coming to us with his stock Bianchi Infinito (a high-end bike from a brand synonymous with Italy), Max got very excited about the prospect of riding a bike that would be truly his: made for him and that tells his story.

He decided to commission a Vitess Bespoke that would merge his passions for cycling, soccer and Italy. The artwork theme is the Inter Milan football club, or more specifically the Inter Milan Away shirt that was released by Nike in 2010 as part of a new kit to celebrate the 3rd win of the Milan-based club at the UEFA Champions League.

The key feature of this visually-striking kit is the ‘Biscione’ (or the ‘Bissa’ as it’s known in Milanese), a dragon that has long served as an emblem of the city of Milan, and has actually been associated with Inter for a long time too. You might also recognise the Bissa from the logo of car manufacturer Alfa Romeo.

Our creative team worked from an original version of the piece of clothing. They color-matched the grey and blue and rebuilt the various creative assets to integrate them into the overall visual of the bike. The design is asymmetrical.

To create a 3-dimensional effect of the artwork on the bike, all colours were finished with a glossy top-coat treatment whereas all the carbon fibre 3k weave was finished in wet satin. That contrast is as visual (the light reflection characteristics are different) as it is tactile. Because all the artwork is hand-masked (in multiple levels) and spray-painted, the motif creates a follow-through of the visual impact to the touch of the fingers.

The rider interface (supplied by Italy’s 3T) was completely refinished to match the white glossy of the frame, as was the carbon fibre crank (made by THM Carbones in Germany) in wet satin to integrate into the overall artwork. For this project, the wheels were not refinished because the stock Lightweight already came with a matt finish in a similar weave texture. The effect is particularly striking now that a pair of Weiss special edition is installed on Max’s bike, with matt carbon fibre rims, and white glossy spokes and hubs.