How Alpinestars Is Bringing the Business of Collectibles to Luxury Fashion
The motorsport equipment manufacturer is expanding into luxury fashion through its RSRV label, transforming race-worn MotoGP suits into collectible leather jackets and partnering with specialty retailers worldwide.
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Alpinestars, the company that has been making protective gear for motorcycle racers for more than 60 years, is getting into fashion.
Its label RSRV is about to release eight leather jackets made from MotoGP suits that riders actually wore, and in some cases actually crashed in. These jackets go on view at Maxfield Los Angeles ahead of the Las Vegas Grand Prix Nov. 17, according to a recent press release from the two companies.
They’re called the Crashed Leather Jackets, and they’re part of RSRV’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection, Structures of Speed. The original armor is still in them. So are the scuffs. Each one ships with documents that say who rode in it and at which race.
Motorsport equipment to contemporary fashion
Buyers of sports memorabilia and buyers of luxury fashion both pay extra for something rare with a story attached, and RSRV is going after both. And Alpinestars is in an unusual spot here, since it’s the company that actually makes the gear everyone else is referencing. “The crashed leather jackets are probably the clearest expression of what RSRV is,” Denise Focil, CEO of Alpinestars RSRV, said in a recent press release. “We have more than 60 years of real history in racing, and we wanted to explore what happens when you take that history and allow it to exist in a different cultural context.”
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Alpinestars has done fashion collaborations before, with Balenciaga and JUUN.J among others. RSRV is its own line, though, designed in-house. “These jackets aren’t an interpretation of motorsport...they are literally pieces of it,” Focil adds. “For me, that’s where the connection to art and fashion becomes really interesting. We’re not borrowing from another culture to create something new; we’re taking something that is authentically ours and giving it another life.”
Former executive from Circle, Salesforce, and Square, Naeem Ishaq, joins Collectors as President and CFO to spearhead global financial strategy, international expansion, and further cement the company’s position in the mainstream collectibles asset class.
The paperwork is the memorabilia piece. In that world, an item is worth what its history can prove, and a jacket tied to a specific rider at a specific race is a different thing from one that just looks fast. For a racing fan, who wore it could easily matter more than how it’s made. And for Alpinestars, a suit that’s done on the track now has somewhere to go. No word yet on price.
Expansion through international specialty retail
RSRV started out in Asia, through independent fashion shops rather than motorsport dealers. It opened in Seoul with an installation at ADDICTED, did an event at ENG Concept during Shanghai Fashion Week, and showed the collection at NUBIAN’s flagship in Harajuku, Tokyo. A lot of people walking into those stores have no idea Alpinestars makes actual gear for professional racers.
“Maxfield has always existed at the intersection of fashion, art, design, and culture, making the crashed leather jackets a natural addition to our world,” the retailer said in the same press release. “Each one-of-a-kind piece carries a singular history and provenance that speaks to our enduring commitment to discovery and collectability.”
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“We are proud to be the first to introduce these jackets to our audience, presented within the Prouvé Nomade Structure, a compelling setting that underscores their dialogue between motorsport heritage and avant-garde fashion,” the retailer added.
While the jackets come from the world of motorcycle racing, the timing of the Maxfield presentation connects the collection to a major event on the international motorsport calendar.
