Luxury material championed in fields beyond fashion

An Alcantara concept store featuring the Metamorphosis Collection. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Milan has long been synonymous with all forms of innovation, technology and design. One company that embodies the spirit of all these qualities is Alcantara S.p.A., the Milan-based luxury material manufacturer.

The appearance and feel of Alcantara material closely resembles suede and it is often incorrectly identified as such. Alcantara is actually the proprietary trade name of an innovative composite material developed in the early 1970s by Miyoshi Okamoto, a scientist working for the Japanese chemical giant Toray Industries, which owns the company in partnership with Mitsui.

Alcantara has a number of advantages over its suede and leather cousins, namely it is durable despite being lightweight, stain resistant and can be more easily molded to fit any shape. Add to this, certain versions are flame retardant and it's a natural fit for the automotive industry.

The company has always shied away from being over reliant on the pure functionality of its material. It is credited as being one of the pioneers in bringing a design and fashion mentality to car manufacturers and as a result has built partnerships with a formidable portfolio of automobile brands including Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati. If you have ever had the good fortune to drive or sit in a luxury car, the chances are you were surrounded by Alcantara upholstery.

The automotive sector accounts for about 70 percent of the company's turnover, but Alcantara's versatility has enabled CEO Andrea Boragno to develop products and applications across a wide variety of high-end, design-led fields ranging from interior design and home decor in association with Lignet Roset, to collaborations with consumer electronics leaders such as Leica and Sennheiser. Since December 2013, a line of high-tech Alcantara accessories have been on sale in Apple stores in the United States.

"We have always stressed the fact that our strategy as a company is to push the boundaries of this material as far as it can go," said Boragno. "I believe that one of my tasks when I took over as CEO was to take a fresh look at the potential uses of Alcantara with a view to make design and innovation an essential part of the company's DNA. It is a material that lends itself exceptionally well to customization and personalization, so we have invested heavily in research and development to demonstrate its virtually infinite capabilities. As a result we are now involved in a wide array of new fields.

"Our brand now has a very strong global identity and it is my belief that one of our key competitive advantages comes from the fact that we have developed and maintained very close ties with the leading talents from the world of design. Creativity is essential in helping us to position ourselves in a unique way. It allows us to instill a sense of emotion and beauty in what we do that allows us to stay ahead of the market."