TheArsenale Interviews Bogarde Creator, Brice Moreau
Brice Moreau is the French designer behind Bogarde, the Parisian label that turned the childhood BMX into a luxury object and earned an exclusive collaboration with Dior Homme under Kris Van Assche. In this interview, the man who started Bogarde in 2013 explains how a single custom bike for himself grew into a brand that sold out a haute couture BMX in days.
The Bogarde BMX has seen a surge of success thanks to its exclusive collaboration with the haute couture house of Dior. With the creative direction of Kris Van Assche behind it, Bogarde created a unique BMX carrying the Dior name. It was not the first time Bogarde dipped its toes into the fashion world: there was also a collaboration with Colette and its iconic blue polka dot pattern. You can explore our full Bogarde collection and meet the man who created such an iconic ride: Brice Moreau.
Who is Brice Moreau and what is Bogarde?
What is Bogarde in 2 words?
Bogarde is an homage to our greatest years, what we see when we look back at our childhood. Our bikes are hybrids, a meeting point between the grown man we are now and the kid we used to be.
How did you start?
Bogarde was born with the idea to create a custom bike for myself. Back in 2013 I was looking for a bike with attitude, nervous and fun to ride. I had one thought: what is more stylish than my childhood BMX? I have so many memories of my oldschool Diamondback with white skyway mags. This can not compete with any of the BMX on the market nowadays. But an oldschool ride was not the right option for me because of the difficulty to find old school parts here in France, and my main problem was the size of the BMX, way too small for a tall guy. I decided to create my BMX, I used a great 3D software called BikeCAD which clearly helped me a lot in coming up with the design. This is how we made the first prototype: 24'' wheels, 21'' top tube and old school frame geometry. At that time I did not have the knowledge of manufacturing a bike from zero but I got some help and learnt. In the end I can say I got lucky to have met the right people at the right time.
Where does Bogarde sit in the bike industry?
What is Bogarde's place in the bike industry?
I have a lot of respect for historical BMX brands, riders and freestylers, but we can not compare Bogarde to any other bike brand because we do everything our way. Our approach is different because I come from the luxury and fashion industry. I know how important the product and the brand are. We are not on a «sport» or «freestyle» segment, Bogarde is something apart and this is what our clients are looking for. My idea for Bogarde was to work hard to create a unique product no matter what it cost us. I knew that with time the product would find its way, and this is what happened.
How did Bogarde land a Dior collaboration?
How does a 3 year old brand get a collab with Dior?
In my opinion, working with Dior is the result of a process. Step by step we built up the brand. For example, in 2016 we were collaborating with the French store Colette on a customized BMX. The brand awareness got stronger and we got Adrian Ward Reese (Managing Director of Dior Homme) as a client. This is how the idea found its way to the Kris Van Assche office. You can read Dior's own account of the project on the official Dior Homme and BMX feature, and design outlet Hypebeast covered the launch in detail.
How was the relationship with Dior?
It was a real pleasure to work with Dior and at the same time a big challenge because they want excellence. We had many meetings and we explored lots of creative possibilities in order to get a real «designer» bike and not just another collab. Dior really played the game, manufacturing some «sur mesure» pieces. For example, the grip ends are made in Italy in the Dior factory. We feel very lucky to work in such great conditions, and the response to the collab was amazing: all bikes sold in just a few days.
What is next for Bogarde?
What about the future?
We are currently working hard on the second version of the Dior Homme x Bogarde BMX that should drop before summer. The Bogarde range of models will continue to expand, this is just the beginning. For more on Brice Moreau's journey, see this long form interview with the founder.
Ready to own a piece of this story? Discover the Bogarde x Dior Golden BMX and the Bogarde x Dior Silver BMX, or browse the full Bogarde collection and the wider TheArsenale bikes collection.
