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SLATE BALACLAVA

A STREET CULTURE STAPLE, BORN FROM UTILITY, BORROWED BY HIGH FASHION, REINTERPRETED AS AN ELEVATED HOMAGE TO AUTO RACING AND SAFETY.
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Historically, street culture has happily reappropriated utility as fashion. Military fatigues, workwear, technical sailing apparel, Timb boots. All transcending their utilitarian purpose and adopted as street staples. Such has been the case recently with the balaclava. Somewhere in between COVID mask restrictions and rapper Pooh Shiesty repopularising the ski mask-style balaclava, a new trend emerged… The “Sheisty Mask” or, previously known as, the balaclava.

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As streetwear blended into high fashion in a post-Virgil era, and Hip Hop stages became the new runway, the balaclava strong-armed its way into the couture world. In recent years, couture, hip hop, and now motorsports have converged in a beautiful and exciting way. This has manifested a moment where RSRV can articulate the important role of the balaclava in auto racing, and reimagine it as a premium version of the traditionally utilitarian mask. 

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The RSRV Slate Balaclava began life as an Apinestars Race V3 Balaclava, made from flame-resistant Lenzing FR® fabric. Much like the Alpinestars race suits and base layers worn by Formula One drivers, the Race V3 Balaclava provides an added layer of protection against the rare, but ever-present threat of fire in auto racing.

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While its origin story is that of function and safety, the RSRV piece celebrates form, shape, and the enigmatic nature of a mask. It has been enhanced with extensions that can be wrapped to render the piece in an array of configurations on the head, face, and neck. This elevates the unique accessory to something somewhere between mask and bandana. As testimony to its roots in racing, the Slate Balaclava maintains its original FIA hologram label, signifying its homologation for racing. The label is accompanied by a sublimated RSRV label.

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In the past 4 years, the balaclava has occupied an interesting space in fashion, somewhere in between street culture, high fashion, and COVID-era utility. But the RSRV Slate Balaclava is reintroducing it as it has been relevant to Alpinestars for the past 20 years; an imperative piece of protective apparel, that also looks imposing and mysterious. Another one of the RSRV sweet spots. 

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