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Fibres/​Yarns/​Fabrics

Bespoke luxury and screaming orange

Black, grey and anthracite have dominated for too long, says microfibre suede specialist.

22nd August 2023

Innovation in Textiles
 |  Pebble Beach, CA, USA

Transport/​Aerospace

Customised interiors from Italy’s Alcantara featured in a range of luxury vehicles on show at Monterey Car Week held in Pebble Beach, California, from August 9-18.

The classic car show and competition  showcases vintage and rare cars recreated and judged for their historical accuracy, their technical merit and their style

Alcantara and Czinger Vehicles collaborated for the 21C Blackbird edition with an exclusive, bespoke interior. The hypercar features perforated black Alcantara with orange metallic backing, pushing the boundaries of how the material can be exploited in the automotive industry.

Alcantara was also showcased in the Pininfarina Battista edizione Nino Farina, Rimac’s Nevera Time Attack and McLaren’s 750S.

Previously shown at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK, the bespoke interior of the Pininfarina Battista edizione Nino Farina features a driver’s seat finished in black with a contrasting passenger seat finished in beige featuring Nino Farina inscriptions.

Made in Italy was highlighted at the Montery show by the Maserati nex MCXtrema, of which only 62 vehicles have been produced worldwide and are already sold out, and the new Solus GT, in a limited edition of only 25 units featuring a special version of perforated orange Alcantara.

Vibrant colours

The dominant colours for upmarket automotive interiors have been black, grey and anthracite for decades, but vibrant and bright colours are suddenly in demand Alcantara reports.

At an earlier summer festival held in July for car makers and journalists, Alcantara unveiled a ‘screaming orange’ new concept car seat developed in collaboration with components manufacturer Alpina, headquartered in Buchloe, Germany.

The Czinger 21C Blackbird. © Alcantara

“We work closely with the automotive industry to identify new trends from the beginning and vibrant colours were previously only desired in bespoke areas or in limited editions but they are now setting a trend,” said Alcantara chairman and CEO Andrea Boragno at the event, which kicked off the 2023 German Car of the Year (GCOTY) award programme. In addition, he added, countless new patterns are emerging, with finely laser-cut accents adding new twists to interior designs.

Car models featuring Alcantara interiors and nominated to be the next German Car of the Year include the BMW Alpina B5 GT, Alpina’s B4, the Opel Astra GSe and Peugeot’s E-2008.

Alcantara and Alpina’s new ‘screaming orange’ concept car seat. © Alcantara

“At Alcantara we are incredibly proud of the exclusive bespoke solutions we offer and the wide potential for customisation of our versatile material,” said Boragno. “The final product, available in an infinite palette of colours, textures and finishes, is a result of the joint cooperation between our design team and the one of our partners. Exclusive and unique customised creations van fulfil the requirements of even the most demanding projects.”

Alcantara is also introducing a special version of its material made of 68% certified post-consumer recycled polyester in Germany for the first time, certified by the Recycled Claim Standard (RCS), developed by Textile Exchange

Alcantara’s goal is to gradually increase recycled polyester content in the coming years, in line with its position as a carbon neutral manufacturer since 2009. The company’s carbon neutrality certification is based on the offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions through certified and verified offsetting projects.

www.alcantara.com

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