Saint is the motorcycle apparel company that I, as a rider, have been waiting for for ages.
How many times did I see a new pair of riding jeans that are lined with Kevlar, resulting in a bulky and awkward fit? Far too many.
I don’t want to have to change my pants when I get to work, and I don’t want to spend all day in a pair of ten pound pants that look like I belong in a MC Hammer video.
Saint makes clothing that is engineered to slide, crash, breath, and be worn all day. On and off of the bike. Their pieces look better than just about every “motorcycle lifestyle” clothing company out there, the diiference? These are actually riding clothes.
Thanks to their engineered technical fabrics, weaving Kevlar and Dyneema with natural materials like cotton and wool: Saint is making lightweight and damn fine looking gear that will save your hide if you happen to slide on it.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with co-owner Michael Lelliot to talk about Saint, where they come from, and where they’re going.
Morgan Gales (Cruiser)- So let’s just jump straight in here. Tell me a little bit about Saint, you are the Owner/ Founder, yeah?
Michael Lelliot (Saint)- I am the co-founder of Saint… So last Jan I was out riding with a few buddies including Keith Flint from the Prodigy. After the ride we were kicking back over a beer at my place and Keith commented on some merino arm warmers I was wearing with my cut… asking if they were Kevlar? This conversation cemented the reason for Saint. summed up the question – how do we make all day wearable and protective motorcycle clothing? It is this question that got me thinking about and designing new fabrics – fabrics that blend ballistic fibers with naturals.
Cruiser- Right on, so how did you find or develop the technology for Saint Denim?
Saint- Well everyone knows about Kevlar – so that was my starting point – how can we spin, mill and work in new ways with kevlar – but I thought there must be other fibers out there – that’s when we found out about UHMWPE – what we’re talking about is Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene ( most of us haven’t heard of this material – or don’t fully understand it) – So what is UHMWPE? It’s a space age material from the space age (you know, the 70s, when they had space travel and Concordes and all the fancy stuff). – UHMWPE more typically moonlights under names like Dyneema (what Saint uses) and all sorts of other proprietary names. It gets woven, laminated, diluted, extruded and messed with for a range of products; from clothing, armor plating on Apache Helicopters and ballistic protection, sails for America Cup yachts, hiking bags, to snowboard bases, surgical implants and chemical-resistant containers. In the tough fibre pyramid – UHMWPE – sits at the top – and it needs to be treated a bit different than Kevlar – but it is rad for working with denim
Cruiser- Yeah, I am a little familiar with Dyneema, I didn’t know it was that versatile. I know they use it for some helmet shells.
Saint- Yeah – it’s good stuff. and we worked with some old milling equipment to do a triple weave – standard denim has a warp and a weft… – our denim has a double warp beam – making the single layer fabric 360 torsional in strength.
Cruiser- What did you do before Saint?
Saint- Before saint, I was involved in a brand called Crumpler (bags) and then a bicycle brand Knog.
Cruiser- I ask because it seems like someone with a very rich fashion and textile background is at work here. Saint is definitely not your average biker clothing label.
Saint- i’ve always been about innovation. for me the questions are important – ask the right questions and you will end up in places that will surprise you… and yeah – I’m 3rd generation rag trade, so Saint is the best thing – Innovation, motorcycles and apparel: a perfect storm.
Cruiser- Yeah man, I was really blown away by the style and fit of the pieces.
Often times you can get technical gear or good looking gear; the marriage of the two is much harder to find, and almost impossible to find executed as well as you guys have done.
Saint- Thanks – James Foster here is responsible for the gear fitting as well as it does – he has 20 years in high street and luxury apparel.
Cruiser- So what’s next for Saint? Bringing the technical fabrics to some more patterns? exploring new fabrics?
Saint- We have a range of jeans, pants and jackets coming out that incorporate D30 impact armor later this year – and for our own fun we are making a full denim race suit for our race privateering – it will look great – and keep us protected at race speeds. It is also a challenge that is teaching us a ton about what we can do to continue to improve our fabric technology.
Cruiser- That’s awesome. I’m excited to see that when it comes out. What sort of riding do you and your pals get into? What is/ are your personal bike(s)?
Saint- Personally – I’m a total dirt bag. I started riding all japanese – but busted arse in night jobs in my late teens to buy my first Harley – been my goto ever since.
I’ve got three Shovels, a new Dyna Lowrider and then for dirt – an Suzuki RMX – and we ride everywhere…
Cruiser- Radddd, anything else you feel I should know about Saint?
Saint- Saint is not for everyone and we are really stoked on what other people are doing –
Clothing that is all day wearable, inspires and can save your arse when things go random is what we are all about
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Cruiser- Thanks a lot, Michael. Great getting to know you a little bit and getting to test out some of your gear. You guys truly are the tip-top of biker apparel and we’re excited to see more from you in the future!
For more information on Saint CC, check their website: Saint.CC
