Ciclotte is an innovative exercise bike, designed and made in Italy combining idea, form and technology in rethinking the traditional aesthetic and functional values of an exercise bike. The Ciclotte is an adaptation of the Ciclò project, an innovative prototype of a single-wheel city bike, which is now part of the permanent collection exhibited at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan. Ciclotte has been manufactured using exceptional materials like carbon, steel and glass fibres representing complete innovation in the fitness sector thanks to the unique technology of the epicycloid’s transmission system.

Designed by Luca Schieppati, a young designer from Milan, and manufactured by the Lamiflex Group in Bergamo, Ciclotte puts the breaks on the design of traditional gym equipment with shapes and finishes that appeal to users looking for a more aesthetically pleasing workout. {Pulse Magazine} And, if we’re being honest, exercise machines sometimes ends up functioning more as furniture anyway. A sculptural stationary bike that can be passed off as art is far less embarrassing than the bulky treadmill that doubles as a towel rack.

Quite a step outside Cavalli’s box, but for fashion lovers and exercise enthusiasts alike, your day has finally come. The bikes will be available beginning this month alongside Roberto Cavalli Gym, a collection of fitness apparel that lets you hang on to a bit of over-the-top glamour while you sweat. The limited-edition equipment will be available in six color variations:

• Black carbon fibre with details in jaguar-print pony
• Fuchsia carbon fibre with details in Alcantara® (a faux suede-like textile)
• Black carbon fibre with details in zebra-print pony
• Gold steel with details in Alcantara®
• Gold steel with details in jaguar-print pony
• Silver steel with details in Alcantara®

Both the bikes and the outfits are exclusively available at Roberto Cavalli boutiques around the world. {Racked}

Come September, consumers can purchase directly from marcjacobs.com

Reluctance to embrace technology and the Internet, however, has been the norm for luxury fashion brands. Most labels feared department stores would be angry if designers and their wealthy customers dealt directly with one another. A large number of brands relied on department store sites and others like Net-a-Porter to sell their goods online, but the state of the economy has forced department stores to cut steep prices, angering luxury companies that were already worrying about their relevance into the future and ability to compete with knock-off retailers. {The New York Times}

“I was so annoyed last year that I wished no one had our merchandise,” President and Vice Chairman of Mar Jacobs Robert Duffy told the New York Times. “All the department stores were panicked, and they were marking things down.”

Duffy also suggested that the online store for Marc Jacobs may offer exclusive merchandise to attract customers. {Elle}

Word on the street is Jimmy Choo, Hugo Boss, Vince, Lancôme, St. John, Theory, Kiehlâ€s, Lilly Pulitzer, Donna Karan and La Perla will soon or have already launched e-commerce stores on their own Web sites. It seems high fashion is finally realizing profits on clothes sold directly to consumers will be much higher with no middleman taking a cut or dictating prices.

High fashion has everything to gain by taking their products to their own Web pages, but the consumer may end up being the loser in this equation if luxury retailers pull their merchandise from department stores altogether and spike their prices. That may be unlikely to happen immediately, since the economic downturn has caused many aspirational customers to reduce spending on designer clothing, but when the recession truly fades and people begin spending more, high fashion prices might soar above skyscrapers.