Helmets. Not a fashion accessory? Think again.

If the collaboration between Paris-based creatives Ill Studio and Ruby, Europe’s (I’m just going to go right ahead and say the world’s) leading luxury helmet manufacturers is anything to go by, this old and faithful form of protection is old and faithful no more. Headed up by Ill Studio founders Leonard Vernhet and Thomas Subreville, Ruby’s most recent limited edition range sees the Studio’s bespoke offerings, of what was inspired by the eccentric post-modernists of the 1980s, spread across Ruby’s iconic headgear in a finish glossy enough for even the most method of the uptight fashion crowd to want to pop one over their perfectly manicured tresses, grab the nearest Vespa and go for a spin.

But the oh-so-stylish-I-think-I-might-even-want-one range comes after years of wandering the creative and industrial industry’s tracks. But it just proves that with perseverance even high-end helmets have a place on the global fashion stage. Both launching in 2007, the creative visions of Ill Studio and Ruby go, to an extent, hand-in-hand. With a dedication to art direction, graphic and motion design, the Studio’s ethos aligns with Ruby’s endeavour to mould the relationship between man and motor, redirecting the kinetic abilities of mortal reality and satisfying an appetite for the epic. Well, it’s working. But the story, as all good ones do, continues, and we want more.