Dan Single, the co-founder and former creative director of Ksubi, is dabbling in fashion again this year, launching a re-worked vintage clothing collection with Sydney eBike brand Flight Risk.
The 300-piece collection – dubbed ‘Return Flight’ – includes a range of tops, such as bike shirts, t-shirts, overshirts and jackets, all sourced from vintage collections found in overseas markets, and re-worked and embellished under the hands of Single.
Single said he and the Flight Risk team took a trip to Bangkok last year to source furniture and decor for the brand’s new clubhouse and hangar retail space in Mascot, Sydney, just down the road from its warehouse. The group visited the BKK Markets, and Single found himself spending half his time there looking at clothing.
“I was coming across a lot of vintage bike wear and some amazing leather jackets,” he said. “I had an idea: why not create a clothing line made from reworked vintage pieces?
“I mean, this fashion waste debacle/situation we are in is embarrassing. Why make everything new when you can remake what exists?”
Single then called Abraham Mikhail, the guy who founded Flight Risk in 2024, and shared his idea of doing a clothing range for Flight Risk’s clubhouse launch. Mikhail didn’t hesitate.
“I bought as much as we could carry home and spent the next six months sourcing from around the world,” Single said. “I have the keen eye and the good gut instinct of what would work for the collection. The selection process was quite easy. Find the best of the one-offs, while also looking for the pieces that could be part of a story.”
The very limited range is only being sold through Flight Risk’s Mascot store, with what’s left also being included in the eBike retailer’s soon-to-be-finished San Souci clubhouse. Flight Risk also sells its mainline bike range online.
Single said the reaction so far has been pretty exciting, with some Return Flight styles being sold at a launch party for the Mascot store last week. Prices for the range ranged from three figures, with a leather jacket selling for $1,000.
“I feel there will be another Return Flight taking off soon,” Single said. “Watch this space.
“Success to me would be an ongoing Return Flight collection that could sit alongside a mainline of products we are unable to source from the old days, have it run alongside the Flight Risk Bike offering and keep expanding with the opening of more stores.”
Single’s collaboration with Flight Risk comes as he gears up for the release of his memoir Diary Of A Naughtie Kid, which covers his life during 2000-2010, including the launch of Ksubi. He will head to Paris this week for Fashion Week ahead of the book launch on June 23.