BUCHLOE - Black, grey and anthracite have been the prime colours for upmarket automotive interiors for decades, but vibrant and bright colours are now suddenly on trend.
At a 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.
“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 kick of 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.
“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.
