Fancier fabrics making a comeback in cars

Dan Carney • E-mail

The trend toward accessible luxury has been well-documented in recent years. Brands like Coach and Louis Vuitton have become household names, and mainstream stores like Target have recruited famous designers to provide signature products at affordable prices. So it’s not surprising that coddled consumers have also sought luxury in their cars — even those from plain-jane mainstream brands.

Maybe we are running low on cowhide or maybe people are just looking for something different, but fabric is making a comeback inside cars, and their designers are returning to high-quality materials that are so nice some customers may actually prefer them.

These fabrics are appearing in adventuresome color combinations that spice up previously predictably dull cabins, and there is an emerging array of synthetic materials that look and feel convincingly like leather and suede that can be combined with the new fabrics for an exciting multi-material appearance.

“The much more global approach to design, in particular at the (American) Big Three, has more design influence from Europe, and that is driving the fabric houses to get more creative,” reported Joe Phillipi, president of AutoTrends Consulting. “I suspect that the emphasis on cloth may also be a means of keeping costs down without ending up with a cheesy-looking interior,” he said.

Through the 1970s, mainstream American cars featured mostly vinyl upholstery that was insufferably hot in the summer and glacial in the winter. Only luxury models from Lincoln and Cadillac featured soft velour fabric, and European cars often had durable, tightly woven fabrics. Gradually, American customers began to be attracted by supple, perforated leather seats that provided soft and breathable comfort. As with Coach handbags, leather seats soon migrated to the masses, eventually growing to the majority of seats in many new car models.

At the same time, it seemed as though the cost-cutters at car companies were pushing consumers toward the thousand-or-more dollar upgrade to leather seats (and no doubt collecting a profit along the way) by specifying the least appealing, least interesting materials available for car upholstery. The dull gray rental car-grade seats became known as “mouse fur” interiors, and it’s not hard to fathom why car buyers were paying extra for an upgrade to leather.

But now consumers are free from having to choose between unappealing mouse fur and costly and temperature-sensitive leather thanks to the emergence of a new generation of fabrics that feature chunky textures, a soft feel and some daring color schemes. And while luxury car buyers are, for now at least, still married to the notion that only leather will do, entry-level and mainstream models are seeing a flood of innovation inside the cabin.

This means that cost-conscious new models like the Ford Focus and Nissan Rogue are sporting cutting-edge fabric and interior design, and it has earned favorable notice from the car enthusiast press, whose critics can be merciless about perceived shortcomings.

“For our new Focus, we departed on a new interior design theme with a much more modern and up-to-date appearance,” explained Susan Lampinen, group chief designer for Ford’s color and materials group.

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