HÖVDING

Stockholm, Sweden

The invisible helmet

The saying Necessity is the mother of invention can be said to apply to Hövding’s story. The concept of an airbag for cyclists was born in 2005 after Sweden passed a law requiring those under 15 to wear a bicycle helmet. This sparked a public debate on mandatory helmet use and whether the requirement should be extended to adult cyclists. Anna Haupt and Terese Alstin, industrial design students in Lund at the time, began discussing this. Their brainstorming ultimately led to one pivotal question — regardless of whether helmets are required by law, would it be possible to design a bicycle helmet that everyone would want to wear? And if so, what would it look like? Perhaps the most stylish helmet was one you couldn’t even see.

For their thesis project, Haupt and Alstin developed a revolutionary idea – an airbag for cyclists. They set out to make a helmet that wasn’t a helmet but rather an airbag that is worn around the neck like a collar. This ground-breaking concept and innovative design earned the project immediate publicity.

In 2006, Hövding won Venture Cup, a competition that helps young entrepreneurs transform their visions into viable business plans. Hövding Sverige AB was founded the same year, and over the following seven years the concept progressed from an idea to an approved and certified product.

Words: Hövding

Photos: Philip Käll

Model: Moa