Alcantara sets design challenge at IMM Cologne

Formafantasma’s Strata, devised to test the material’s durability

Italian textile experts Alcantara presented an exhibition in experimentation at IMM Cologne. Pictured: Formafantasma’s Strata, devised to test the material’s durability

(Image credit: press)

By Sujata Burman

last updated 31 October 2022

Pushing boundaries in textiles, Alcantara’s hi-tech and uniquely innovative qualities make it a candidate for serious design experimentation. The Italian material experts devised a new challenge for IMM Cologne, inviting four designers to test Alcantara in an installation entitled ‘Touching Tales'.

Over the years, Alcantara has been the go-to material for durability in everything from the textile components of yachts to fashion collections, with options in thicknesses, colours and textures making it pioneeringly functional. With ‘Touching Tales’, the material underwent an artistic transformation, presented in a variety of different installations that assessed its resilience, colour and technological abilities. 'We asked talented young artists to interpret Alcantara, firmly believing that a dialogue with the creative avant-garde is doubly stimulating,' explains Andrea Boragno, chairman and CEO of Alcantara S.p.A.

Ranging in scales, each of the designer's installations were dotted around the exhibition halls. Chilean-Swedish artist Anton Alvarez played with Alcantara’s colour ranges, creating what appeared to be large quilted playground toys in his whimsical style, entitled New Skids on the Block. The pillars utilise soft Alcantara, mixing it with foam, wood and aluminium to form flexible furniture. Danish designer Henrik Vibskov, on the other hand, opted to create an interactive experience in green, conceiving 15 motorised Alcantara-made cones hanging from the ceiling and moving up and down into a pool of water, forming peaceful droplets.

Highlights came from Moritz Waldemeyer and Formafantasma. Working with an Alcantara variant, the British-German lighting engineer Waldemeyer enhanced the already long lasting quality of the material. Harnessing a black and metallic iteration of Alcantara, he introduced an additional layer of film to form a perforated, extra enduring textile lighting piece.

Formafantasma, meanwhile, tested Alcantara’s durability in an installation called Strata. Comprising Italian duo Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, the studio has often used textiles as a starting point for its works. For Strata, the duo paired the soft material with glass, marble and metal, repositioning Alcantara as solid matter. Wrapped around these hard elements multiple times, the folds create subtle colour gradients and patterns. As an extra, they even created a belt out of the material to further accentuate the strength of this englessly ingenious resource.

Strata, by Formafantasma — The exhibition, entitled ’Touching Tales’, saw four different designers called on to utilise the diverse textile in different ways. Pictured: *Strata,* by Formafantasma

Textile test: four designers rethink Alcantara at IMM Cologne — Chilean-Swedish artist Anton Alvarez presented *New Skids on the Block,* mixing soft Alcantara with foam, wood and aluminium to form flexible furniture

New Skids on the Block, by Anton Alvarez — Each of the designer’s installations – in a range of sizes and scales – were dotted around the exibition halls. Pictured: *New Skids on the Block*, by Anton Alvarez

Textile test — Formafantasma paired the soft material with glass, marble and metal, repositioning Alcantara as solid matter

Danish designer Henrik Vibskov opted to create an interactive experience in green, titled *The Science Spooner*

Lighting engineer Moritz Waldemeyer enhanced the already long lasting quality of the material in his piece, 火曜日 kayoubi

Moritz Waldemeyer Kayoubi — Harnessing a black and metallic iteration of Alcantara, he introduced an additional layer of film to form a perforated, extra enduring textile lighting piece

INFORMATION

For more information, visit Alcantara’s website

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Sujata Burman is a writer and editor based in London, specialising in design and culture. She was Digital Design Editor at Wallpaper* before moving to her current role of Head of Content at London Design Festival and London Design Biennale where she is expanding the content offering of the showcases. Over the past decade, Sujata has written for global design and culture publications, and has been a speaker, moderator and judge for institutions and brands including RIBA, D&AD, Design Museum and Design Miami/. In 2019, she co-authored her first book, An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture, published by Hoxton Mini Press, which was driven by her aim to make the fields of design and architecture accessible to wider audiences.

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