Lear Aventino leather allows perforation, embossing, laser etching and printing.
A new line of automotive fabric and leather material from Lear Corporation recently debuted at the Fillmore Detroit Theater at an industrial event with live models and new car seats, all clad in the accoutrements. It was the latest indication that the auto industry is clawing its way back from the Great Recession of President George W. Bush.
While not as ‘over the top’ as a Paris or New York fashion show, the luxury presentation foreshadowed interior design trends that will appear in a couple of years and be available for a much larger audience. Moreover, unlike the fashion industry’s use of exotic hides and materials in clothing and accessories that come from endangered species that the socially repugnant super-rich then flaunt, automakers are using byproducts of animals raised for food – recycling at its best.
As automakers scramble to meet new fuel efficiency and CO2 regulations, this will require the downsizing of vehicles. In order to escape what Henry Ford II described as “small cars, small profits,” interiors are being enriched with increasingly sophisticated and expensive materials.
Lear’s new luxury leather and fabric collection has what are arguably innovations that include customization through secondary processes, such as special perforation, embossing, laser etching and printing. New light leather color choices have dye transfer prevention and greater cleaning capability.
Textiles have more spill protection and greater resistance against staining, mildew, dust, and bacteria, which in theory improves overall vehicle air quality, reduces static electricity and absorbs smoke odor. Even weight reduction is included in materials for low wear areas. Many of the new designs are a product of Lear’s integration of Guilford Performance Textiles in 2012.
