BRANDS
Designing for women: How LUCA is Addressing the Apparel Gap
A decade ago, women looking for cycling bibs had limited options. While the market for women’s cycling apparel has expanded, founder Luca Kuhn believes it still lags behind the men’s segment. Her brand, LUCA, aims to address that gap
LUCA’s origins
The idea germinated in 2020 when founder Kuhn started road biking during lockdown. She couldn’t find technical clothes she liked and soon felt something was missing from the market, as cycling seemed behind other disciplines where women’s apparel was already plentiful, such as yoga or gym gear. Options were lacking, and designs were often either heavily branded or only available in dark colours. Over the next three years, Kuhn found a designer and spent countless hours speaking to women, in real life or via social media, about their cycling needs or barriers to entry. The same complaints emerged again and again: women were struggling to find apparel that actually fit them or were simply told to shop from the men’s section and size down.
A design philosophy that starts with women in mind Kuhn considers that while the availability and variety of women’s cycling kit has improved in recent years, collections often look like an adaptation of existing men’s apparel. As a women’s brand, LUCA looks at garments from a woman’s point of view and questions existing designs to create looks and cuts that make sense for the female body. The question became: if this garment was designed completely with a woman in mind, how would it be?
A different fit and sizing approach In general, women have proportionately shorter torsos than men and have breasts. Beyond that, women can have a range of body types, and so the basic approach of designing a jersey based on a small or medium body and sizing it up and down to
42 | April 2026
create a range of sizes does not yield good fits for everyone. For this reason, LUCA makes sure that each piece of kit is tested on riders across the size range. If a cut needs tweaking for one of the sizes, the brand then makes the necessary adjustments.
Another issue Kuhn identified early on was sizing itself. Cyclists
reported needing to size up significantly when buying cycling apparel compared with everyday clothing. For many women, this can feed body image issues, and so
LUCA decided to align its sizing more closely with mainstream fashion brands,
a move Kuhn says has required careful communication with customers used to the
conventions of cycling kit.
Target market LUCA’s initial focus has been beginner and recreational riders. Kuhn says this reflects both her own entry into cycling and the brand’s broader goal of lowering barriers to participation. The Road All-In-One is a
flagship product for LUCA. It’s a one-piece suit with padding, but instead of the traditional bib braces, it offers a more covering crossover front, which makes it both more comfortable for a
Above center and right: Luca Kuhn - Founder of LUCA
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