The paradox of leather: From coachman seat to status symbol

Once upon a time, when the nobility used horse carriages, leather was used for the coachman’s seat outside; fine fabric was reserved for the passenger seat inside the coach. Time has passed, and in the modern age, where the car reigns supreme, the situation has reversed 180 degrees. Genuine leather is now universally considered the standard for luxury car seats.

In this current landscape, I believe the only viable alternative to genuine leather is Alcantara. Car enthusiasts, especially Ferrari fans, covet it intensely. Alcantara is almost a synonym for luxury artificial leather. It is, in fact, the name of a brand and a company in Italy. Here is a small point of national pride: The company is a joint venture with the Japanese major chemical company, TORAY, and the artificial leather was actually invented by a Japanese scientist.

The authenticity of the artificial: Alcantara’s rise

Some people are inclined to avoid any product simply by hearing the word “artificial,” but Alcantara looks and feels exactly like real suede leather. You can see for yourself by Googling “Ferrari” and “Alcantara.” The authenticity—or lack thereof—is no longer the issue for car lovers, because Alcantara has successfully established itself as a luxury brand in its own right. There have even been car models released with labels like “Alcantara Edition.”

A recent famous example is the “GT-R50 by Italdesign,” released in 2020 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Nissan GT-R. Why don’t you check the image of the car interior upholstered with Alcantara? I am confident you will agree that the material looks both beautiful and supremely luxurious.

The ethical edge: Eco-friendly luxury

Still, some people may maintain a feeling of dislike for Alcantara solely because it’s artificial. Indeed, it’s made of polyester and polyurethane. However, this is where the modern logic comes in: most of the raw materials are now being produced from renewable biomaterials.

When compared with genuine leather, where production (especially the tanning process) puts a heavy burden on the environment, Alcantara can be argued to be significantly more eco-friendly. The future of true luxury, in a complex and fragile world, might not lie in scarcity, but in conscious and ethical creation.

From Ferrari seats to your living room: Meet Ultrasuede

Here is my humble confession and the true purpose of this fascinating discourse on Italian-Japanese luxury: TORAY itself produces the same artificial leather in Japan under a different, yet equally excellent, brand name: Ultrasuede.

Ultrasuede is one of the premium fabric collections we offer. We currently stock three colors in our catalog, which means they are always available immediately. However, you can choose your favorite color from more than 80 standard Ultrasuede colors, giving you a wider palette than all of our genuine leather collections combined.

By upholstering one of our chairs, like the NUPRI Recliner (see image), with Ultrasuede, you can achieve a luxury feeling akin to being seated in a Ferrari or a Maserati—but in a comfortable, customizable, and eco-friendly way right in your own living room. (Yes, my research into Italian sports cars always leads back to my Hokkaido chairs.)

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Photo Credit: https://www3.nissan.co.jp/vehicles/new/gt-r/specifications/t-spec.html

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