Dainese was founded in 1972 by its current President, Lino Dainese, and started out as a manufacturer of leather pants for Motocross. Since its inception, the company's history has been intertwined with that of riders who have made motorcycling history: from Giacomo Agostini and Barry Sheene in the World Speed Racing Championship to Cavellero and Alborghetti in Motocross, champions were wearing Dainese gear as far back as the '70s. A tradition carried on by the most illustrious names in motorcycling, riders like Roberts, Lucchinelli, Uncini, Spencer, Mang, Lawson, Cadalora, Fogarty and today Valentino Rossi, Max Biaggi, Daniel Pedrosa, Olivier Jacque, and many others.
Dainese's relationship with World Champions has always gone beyond a simple sponsorship. It has had much deeper implications, tied to research and the development of innovative solutions for protecting bikers and athletes in a tough environment like the world of racing.
In the second half of the 1970s, with Agostini, Dainese developed special constructive features designed to optimise comfort on the seat; with Barry Sheene it became clear that some protection had to be given to the back, which at that time was completely exposed to impacts in the event of a fall. Thus Dainese took the first stride toward modern leathers by introducing a back guard and composite protectors, true milestones in the history of protection. The novelty consisted in the design of a structure combining a soft base with a hard shell that allowed shocks to be distributed over a larger surface.
At the start of the 1980s, one of the greatest World Motorcycling professionals, Freddie Spencer, personally "tested" the performance of the back guard by falling on the curb in Kyalama; he picked himself up unharmed after an extremely hard impact which could have jeopardized his promising career.
Those years - when the Italians Lucchinelli and Uncini won the world championship 500 with Dainese leathers - witnessed the advent of the American "school" of Kenny Roberts whose riding style involved knees touching the asphalt. Dainese replaced the first improvised solutions used by riders with a more advanced one: the Istrice knee slider. After undergoing a series of modifications, it evolved into the current Knee 2000, which still today is the protective feature used. The company continued in its research, taking the concept of total safety to new heights: the use of composite protectors was extended to protect all the parts of the body that are most vulnerable in a fall, for example shoulders, elbows, forearms, knees and shins. The so-called "hump", an extension with both aerodynamic and safety functions, appeared on the back of the most technical suits, called Professional. Situated right behind the nape of the neck, it prevents the helmet from shifting back and also serves to dampen any shocks occurring in that area, which for functional reasons the back guard cannot reach.
In the same years, a relationship formed between Dainese and Dr. Claudio Costa's Mobile Clinic, an organization made up of specialized physicians that followed the World Motorcycling Championship,

the World Superbike Championship and Motocross with a facility called Life TIR, equipped to
provide emergency care to riders who have suffered injuries. The partnership, which is still alive today, was set up to assess falls and their consequences in order to devise and achieve the most effective protective solutions for preventing or limiting accident injuries.
Backed by the experience it had built up over the years, Dainese decided to present its safety concepts in a more complete, homogeneous framework. Starting from the late 1980s, it completed its range of products with gloves, boots and crash helmets, thus allowing bikers to enjoy Dainese protection "from head to toe". In addition to this technical "upheaval", Dainese caused a commercial one. In fact, in those years it launched a commercial "new deal", which led to a drastic truncation of the distribution chain, so that Dainese began selling directly to stores in all major European countries without going through importers.
Technological research continued: the 1990s saw a strong emphasis laid on research and above all a new awareness that led Dainese to change its mission. The wealth of know-how it had accumulated in the field of protection enabled it to develop a technology whose validity also extended to many sports other than motorcycling. A need for protection was increasingly felt in sports like Mountain Bike Downhill, Skiing, Snowboarding and many other sports involving the risk of injuries caused by impact or skidding.
Dainese thus started exporting its protection technology from the world of motorbikes to that of dynamic sports and changed its mission, which is today decidedly broader and more challenging.
Dainese is rising to this difficult challenge with D-TEC, its research & development department specialized in the field of protection, which has launched two important research projects: D-AIR, which regards Air-Bag protection, and PROCOM, which focuses on methods for improving comfort, relying on a special suit provided with sensors to measure parameters in terms of temperature and humidity.
Dainese has also modified its organizational structure and operational procedures accordingly and has obtained ISO 9001 certification of its Quality System.
Today, like at the very start, Dainese tries out its ideas in the toughest of worlds, the world of racing, where professionals like Valentino ROSSI, Max BIAGGI, Carl FOGARTY, Kristian GHEDINA, Deborah COMPAGNONI and Nicolas VOUILLOZ put what Dainese designs directly to the test. A fundamental choice, which always revolves around one protagonist, man.