From 12 to 15 November, at 17 Goulston Street in London, Selle Royal will do something that companies usually avoid at all costs: put their own mistakes on display. Prototypes that came out wrong, materials that reacted differently from what the designers had hoped, paths taken and then abandoned. The project for the seventieth anniversary of the brand from Pozzoleone is, quite rightly, called “Nothing to hide”.

Founded in 1956 by Riccardo Bigolin in the province of Vicenza as a small workshop, the company has always kept pace with the new materials and technologies available. Polyurethane foams between the Seventies and Eighties, the Royal Vacuum technology that marked the shift from craftsmanship to industrial production, Royalgel in 1990.

Back to the 70th anniversary: at the heart of “Nothing to hide” is the Lookin Evo, a transparent saddle in Stracciatella foam with a cover that lets you see the internal structure and the materials it is made of. Bike saddles are usually judged by their shape, their surface and their comfort. Here, instead, it is what lies inside, always kept out of sight, that is put in front of everyone’s eyes. And what makes it special is that it is designed for everyone, not only for collectors or passionate cyclists, but also for those who ride in the city for short trips, among potholes and tram tracks.
Available in a limited edition, the Lookin Evo also comes with packaging dedicated to the anniversary.

At the London exhibition, the saddle is the protagonist of two different stories, one tied to the world of design and the other to the world of photography.
In collaboration with students from Iuav University of Venice, the saddle becomes part of objects designed for home furnishing and decor. We see saddles mounted on metal structures that form dynamic coffee tables, and we also see leftover foam reused to make armchairs and vases. 

Alongside the design pieces, photographs by Matteo de Mayda will also be on show, telling the story of the Italian factory and of the craft know-how behind the products. If the objects on display reveal the material, the photographs reveal the hands that work it.

With “Nothing to hide”, Selle Royal has decided to give everyone the chance to discover the stories and the knowledge hidden behind an object we all too often take for granted.