A lab-created material originally intended to coat racing cars is now being used in areas such as fashion, architecture and even sculpture

If you have a passion for cars, especially high-end sports cars, you may be aware that these vehicles are often fitted with a material called Alcantara. It is a soft, resistant and very elegant fabric that was developed in the laboratory at the end of the 1960s.

Today, Alcantara is used not only to dress the steering wheel and/or the upholstery of prestigious vehicles such as the Porsche 911, the Lamborghini Huracán, the Bugatti Chiron or the BMW i8, but also in the manufacture of high-end clothing. quality and even in interior decoration.

A fabric synonymous with quality, which evolves over time

Interior of the Ferrari Purosangue

The book entitled " Alcantara, the material of art " presents the singular history of this versatile and little-known material, which has become synonymous with luxury and quality. Today, it can be made from recycled materials, as can be seen in the Ferrari Purosangue cabin .

This fabric, which looks like suede, was created over 53 years ago by Japanese scientist Miyoshi Okamoto while working for Toray Industries , the same company that invented rayon and is today one of the largest carbon fiber producers in the world, even supplying parts for the famous Boeing 787 .

creating under a high-powered microscope, he noticed that these looked like "little islands in the sea", held together by filaments. This is how the material was baptized, taking its name from the Arabic term " al-quantarah " which means "bridge" in Spanish.

In 1970, the first patent for this material was filed. Two years later, after the merger of Eni and Toray , a joint venture named Alcantara SpA was born. This company based in Terni (Italy) has specialized in improving this fabric over time, quickly acquiring a reputation as the "car workshop".

By 1978 the high-tech Okamoto fabric was already commonly used in the interiors of many Fiat cars , later followed by Audi, Lancia , as well as other brands such as Alfa Romeo, Subaru, Maserati and McLaren.

Thanks to its resistance, ease of dyeing, easy washing and breathability (unlike other materials such as leather), Alcantara quickly became the preferred choice of luxury and sports automotive brands. However, its use was not limited to cars alone.

As early as the 1980s and 1990s, Alcantara was widely used by fashion designers and interior designers for their high-end collections due to its exceptional resistance to twisting, making it an ideal choice for accessories. such as hats and gloves, as well as for jackets and other garments.

During the 2000s, Dutch designer Iris van Herpen incorporated this fabric into one of her most famous sculptures, and it was also used to create tapestries exhibited at the MAXXI museum in Rome due to its remarkable lightness - 10,000 meters of Alcantara fibers weigh only one gram.

Massimilian Adami , contemporary artist, has used Alcantara in some of his recent artistic creations. François Azambourg , meanwhile, designed a wall made up of folded Alcantara panels, reminiscent of the traditional Japanese art of origami. The list of artists who have used this fabric is very long.

In addition, there are currently hundreds of patents relating to Alcantara, a fabric that was created by Toray. In honor of its inventor, one of Toray's important research laboratories was named Okamoto .