It was in 2020 when Valtteri first asked me to design one of his helmets and there was immediate pressure because we’d just started dating! But more than that, an F1 racer’s helmet is their brand – it’s who they are as a racing driver and the only item they can personalise, so there was big pressure on me. Fortunately, he liked it, and I said to him: “let’s do more”, because I’m always coming up with ideas. Since 2021 I’ve designed almost all of his helmets.
I would say I’ve always been creative, and I’m definitely more of a visual person than someone who is into books and numbers. I’m not necessarily a naturally talented hand artist, but attention to detail is something that I’ve always appreciated – I can’t make food and not plate it up nicely. Before I was accepted onto the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) program for road cycling aged 19 in 2006, I studied fashion design at a trade school. I really enjoyed it and learned all the basics, but it’s funny when I look back at some of my old designs. I shake my head and say, ‘Gosh, that was the 18-year-old Tiffany deciding this was cool and not actually what the market was like’.
After 2008, my cycling career started taking off and I couldn’t continue the course remotely. Since then I’ve been a hobby designer and am mostly self-taught. I tried my own brand but it was difficult when my main goal has always been cycling. Over the years, though, I’ve had the opportunity to do some collaborations with Velocio and Rapha. When I met Valtteri, I became his personal designer, and I’ve done some of his merchandise collection, as well as the helmets of course.
Photo by Thomas Maheux/SWpix.com
I’m very proud of all of the helmets I’ve designed but I think the one for the Austin race in 2021 stands out as a favourite. Austin is famous for its street art, so I recreated one of its famous murals to represent the city. But it wasn't easy to do – there were so many elements to pull apart, and I had to trace every single piece from a photo to make it look the same, and put it on a 3D object. I also thought the mullet helmet in 2023 was really good – it was a fun and playful design that was also a big challenge for me to create.
In F1, they travel all over the world so you could create a new design for pretty much every race if you really wanted to. We’ve done some special editions for Monaco like gambling, ocean conservation, and even a Pac-Man theme because the city is like a maze. It could be interesting to create something for the Saudi Arabia GP – the country was previously closed off but is pushing new boundaries and trying to put itself on the map as a place to visit. I’m yet to do a special edition for that race, though. There was some vague talk about trying to bring F1 to Africa, potentially Rwanda or South Africa, so it could be cool to do an African-themed helmet one day. When I’m designing, I’m always thinking about the location, the vibe, the latest trend, what things I or the client likes. It’s about storytelling and creating something that represents either the subject or the place.
Photo by Getty Images
Some of the designs take a couple of hours, but the more complex ones like the mullet can take me weeks. I use the software Adobe Illustrator on my laptop like most designers, and it’s sent to the team for approval first, and then to an in-house painter who paints the design by hand. I often draw my designs when I’m at training camps and races because we have so much spare time and there’s only so much social media you can scroll through. Plus, I usually can’t sit still and this gives me something to do. But I never draw when I’m on a team bus or fully in race mode – I need to be in the right headspace for racing.
There is much less freedom when it comes to designing cycling helmets as teams want everything to match, which limits creativity. But there is a market for custom designs. On aero helmets, you have more space to play with, and there are definitely more options when it comes to designing bike frames. The surface area is bigger and there aren’t as many logos, so custom paint jobs for frames is something I’d love to do more of.
Photo by Zac Williams/SWpix.com
My current contract with the team expires at the end of this season and I’m keeping an open mind about what’s next. I’ll be 37 in July and know that I am definitely towards the end of my career, but when the actual end will be is unknown. I want to take a few more gravel wins this year, and on the road I want to be the best possible teammate in all the big races.
Beyond that, do I see a future in design? It’s hard to say, but it’s definitely one possible option and something that I really enjoy. I want to learn more skills so I might enrol in a graphic design course to learn about doing special effects and branding, or I could go into something completely different. My profile and skillset is in cycling, but I can’t see myself being a sports director… I’ve done enough nights in less-than-lovely hotels, eating too many carbs and race food – I don’t need to do any more! But for sure, I’ll continue to stay in cycling, whether that’s gravel events or designing. And you’ll always find me creating.
- Tiffany
You can read more from the In My Words series here.
Cover image by Zac Williams/SWpix.com
