A special exhibition, which took place from between last month at the National Museum of Science and Technology and the Nhow Hotel in Milan, celebrated leading material supplier Alcantara, and their role in supplying the automotive world with their famous cloth. Although Alcantara is a global supplier, the exhibition concentrated on the Made in Italy design theme, with fifteen historical cars from Bertone, Giugiaro and Pininfarina on display.

The incredible appeal of Alcantara stems from a true technological breakthrough, an invention that actually comes from Japan. It all started in 1970, when Dr. Miyoshi Okamoto, a scientist working at the multinational Japanese chemical corporation Toray, filed a patent for this innovative material.  To tap the full potential of this extraordinary discovery, the Japanese company looked for a European partner to help it tackle the market, and found one in the ENI Group. Once an agreement had been signed for commercial use of the patent, the material was launched under the brand name Alcantara. Alcantara is based on a unique, proprietary technology, which has yet to be rivalled, and ensures that the product will preserve its one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art features over time. All phases of processing, from spinning to dyeing, are carried out in the 200,000 square metres of Alcantara’s large Italian plant in Nera Montoro, near Terni.

Giorgetto Giugaro, who has used Alcantara on numerous concept cars including his latest Ferrari GG50, explains, “Alcantara stands as a synonym for a quality product, very versatile and reliable, very resistant and easy to care. I have really worked a lot for the automotive industry and I would say that now the offer is incredible: fretwork, drawings, print effects, original treatment of surfaces, all chromatic shades. A range rich in new ideas is now provided, ideas that were lacking in the automotive industry compared to what was already present in furniture design, and we have decided to apply them to our new style proposals. For this GG50 that I wanted to create to celebrate my “first” 50 years of activity in car design, I decided to use this innovative and pleasant material to make inserts in a nice red colour matching and alternating with leather.

“Balance, harmony, good taste, quality and the care of detail, an accurate execution, the use of precious and pleasant materials. These details visually communicate the car interior’s comfort for people with proportions playing on the final aesthetics. Automotive interiors are unique and extremely important in the relationship between people and their cars. Today it is really considered as a miniature “home” by users who are increasingly advanced, exacting and attentive to quality. Therefore the care you usually have for your own home, the love for detail and the search for distinctive features are now concentrated on this “cell” that must be able to combine visual pleasantness, solidity and soft surfaces while aiming at well-being and maximum comfort.
 

“Cars are a world apart, taking inspiration from everything. Everything gives signals and suggestions that are translated into fashion, trends and new aesthetic theories. Art, architecture, music, theatre and therefore fashion and furniture, but also the evolution of lifestyles, the attitudes and ways of behaving and being can provide an incentive for designers and encourage them to “revisit” their concept of car interiors and to “communicate” innovation and quality from a visual point of view. Alcantara is a very resistant, pleasant, new material, which offers a wonderful tactile experience. As I said, this is a material that can be combined with leather, creating simultaneously amusing, original and refined associations. Traditionally Italians can count on the best fashion designers that set the trends and teach others. To be up to the level of these great names that propose extremely charming garments, we will “dress” car interiors seductively so as to convey good taste, balance and refinement according to the most advanced expression of Italian style.”

Of course, Alcantara is not only a supplier to the automotive industry, with key markets in furniture design, fashion design and other forms of transportation such as luxury yachts. One of the most famous examples of furniture to use Alcantara fabric is the Sacco armchair by Zanotta, designed and developed in 1968 by Piero Gatti, Cesare Paolini and Franco Teodoro. It was this design which literally revolutionised armchair design, providing many postures and introducing an element of fun.

The dream cars on display at the special exhibition ranged from the 1960s through to the modern day, representing the timeless quality of Alcantara material. In chronological order, the 1960s cars, on display at the Nhow Hotel, included the 1966 Maserati Ghibli by Giugiaro and the 1967 Bertone Marzal. The remaining exposition at the National Museum of Science and Technology comprised of the 1971 Alfa Romeo Caimano by Giugiaro, the 1976 Rainbow by Bertone, 1978 Jaguar XJ-Spider by Pininfarina, 1980 Lancia Medusa by Giugiaro, 1988 Genesis by Bertone based on Lamborghini running gear, 1989 Mythos by Pininfarina, 1991 BMW M12 Nazca by Giugiaro, 1997 Peugeot Nautilus by Pininfarina, 1999 Bertone Bella based on the platform of the Alfa Romeo 166, 2003 Bertone Birusa based off the BMW Z8, 2004 Toyota Allessandro Volta by Giugiaro and finally the 2005 Maserati Birdcage 75th by Pininfarina.

by James Granger