Alé Cycling

Custom Kit Design for UK Retailers, Clubs & Teams

Brief

As a globally recognised cycling apparel brand, Alé Cycling specialises in high-performance custom kits for retailers, cycling clubs, and professional teams. My role focused on designing custom kit graphics, creating print-ready CAD patterns, and utilising Clo3D to generate realistic 3D prototypes before production.

Working with major UK retailers (Wiggle, Sigma Sports, Chain Reaction Cycles, ProBikeKit) and professional teams, I developed bespoke kit designs that reflected each brand’s identity while maintaining Alé’s signature performance aesthetics. By leveraging digital tools and industry expertise, I ensured the final garments met both visual and technical standards, reducing lead times and improving production accuracy.

Insight

Alé aimed to grow its UK presence by offering bespoke kits that aligned with retailers’ and teams’ branding while maintaining performance standards. Each design needed to integrate seamlessly into Alé’s existing garment templates, ensuring graphics adapted correctly across different panel structures.

A key challenge was ensuring color accuracy in sublimation printing, where slight variations could impact brand consistency. By working with Pantone color libraries, I maintained precise color reproduction across fabrics, preventing discrepancies between digital designs and final production.

Approach

I worked closely with retailers, teams, and Alé’s production team to develop custom graphics, CAD layouts, and 3D prototypes. Using Clo3D, I created photo-realistic previews, allowing for accurate visualisation before production and reducing the need for multiple physical samples.

For retail kits, I adapted branding elements into sublimation-ready layouts, ensuring a clean, professional aesthetic. For pro teams, I focused on visibility, aerodynamics, and sponsor placement, creating striking race kits that balanced performance and branding without disrupting technical functionality.

Result

The custom kits launched successfully, strengthening Alé’s position in the UK market and leading to repeat collaborations with both retailers and teams. The use of Clo3D helped refine design accuracy and efficiency, reducing approval times while ensuring final production matched the original concept.

For teams, the kits delivered strong visual identity on race days, ensuring branding remained consistent across different kit variations while maintaining performance-driven design standards.

By integrating Clo3D into the workflow, I reduced waste, production costs, and approval delays, allowing for faster iterations without compromising precision. Using Pantone-matched colors, I ensured brand consistency across all fabric types, reinforcing each retailer’s and team’s identity across multiple production cycles.

This project showcased the balance between technical precision and creative execution, refining Alé’s approach to custom kit production and enhancing efficiency in high-performance apparel design.

“You can find inspiration in everything. If you can’t, then you’re not looking properly.”

- Paul Smith

Personal Reflection

I really enjoyed seeing these kits come to life and witnessing how people expressed their passion for cycling—whether as a club riding together in matching kits or as individuals showcasing their gear out on the road. It was also rewarding to see the designs featured online, available for purchase and embraced by the cycling community.

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