Maserati and Ermenegildo Zegna release racy silk upholstery

[Express]

Maserati and Ermenegildo Zegna release racy silk upholstery


Peter McKay
18 Dec 2015


The bold thought of using pure silk in car upholstering probably ranks up there with the long-ago pioneering gourmet who looked at an oyster and said out loud to a disbelieving audience: "I think this can be a delicacy." It's not immediately obvious for the role.

Silk is a favoured fabric in the world of fashion but for the seats and other heavy traffic areas of a car cockpit, never. Not for a place often inhabited by messy kids and clumsy adults.

Until now. The long-term collaboration of two stylish Italian giants, Maserati and Ermenegildo Zegna has produced a world-first – a hard-wearing weave of the finest silk used in a just-offered interior upholstery option that has many enthusiasts intrigued. And asking lots of logical questions, especially about durability and care.



Mulberry silk used by Ermenegildo Zegna has been processed to enhance strength and resilience. Photo: Supplied


Durable luxury

Normally, silk and a child's dropped ice cream are not a wonderful mix. And anyone who has experimented with silk sheets in the boudoir knows embarrassingly of their traction-limited characteristics.

Fear not, says Glen Sealey, the chief operating officer of Maserati in Australasia and South Africa, of the ground-breaking process of Ermenegildo Zegna taking a natural material that is renowned for its soft and delicate nature and developing it into a new form of silk fabric suitable for car upholstery.


“The Zegna silk is an important point of difference for us.” - Glen Sealey


Sealey assures us that the requirements for durability have been met without the silk losing any of its intrinsic qualities. In this seating trim role it is also rather reassuringly grippy.



The macro-chevron 'puppy-tooth' weave, is offered in one colour – anthracite. Photo: Lorenzo Marcinno


The local Maserati boss is an unabashed cheerleader for Ermenegildo Zegna's role in the collaboration. He hails Zegna's "remarkable feat of fabric engineering ", comparing it with the mechanical and design engineering that has gone into the Ghibli and Quattroporte cars into which it is tailored.

Tailored to fit

This, after all, is about Ermenegildo Zegna's finest silk being worked into a stunning combination with handcrafted leathers from Poltrona Frau to serve an industrial role while remaining exquisite and beautiful to touch. But certainly not delicate or vulnerable.

"Technology like Bluetooth and satellite navigation is a part of luxury," says Sealey. "Over time though, they slip into obsolescence. At Maserati, true luxury is defined by the special touches – the unique, exquisitely handcrafted quality materials – personally chosen by the buyer to define his or her personality and forever there for the lifetime of the car.



The Zegna influence is likely to be part of the new Levante glamour SUV to be launched next year. Photo: Supplied


"The Zegna silk is an important point of difference for us," says Sealey.

Strength and resilience

Leather and polished timber were the almost obligatory cabin trim of the earliest horseless carriages. Suede followed for those motor cars with roofs. Then the manufacturers discovered hard wearing, easy-care synthetic materials. Later along came Alcantara and what some manufacturers artfully call "leather-look" trim.

The 100 per cent natural-fibre Mulberry silk used by Ermenegildo Zegna has been processed differently to enhance its strength and resilience. Though blending a soft feel with an elegantly technical look, here the silk is not merely pretty or decorative. Used in the seats and door panels as well as roof lining, sunshades and ceiling light fixture, it has to offer the same levels of durability, colour-fastness and long service life of normal automotive upholsteries.



The Zegna silk option pack ranges from between $12,000 and $15,000. Photo: Supplied


The silk trim with its subtle macro-chevron 'puppy-tooth' weave, is offered in one colour – anthracite – in conjunction with one of three shades (black, natural and red) of Poltrona Frau leather, with contrasting grey stitching on seats, dashboard and door panels.

Smooth as

The centre of the door panels are trimmed with Zegna silk jersey and embellished by a diagonal roll pattern, with 'ton-sur-ton' ornate stitching and alternating rib embroideries. The same fabric is used to cover the car's roof lining and sunshades, the latter bearing the boast "Ermenegildo Zegna Exclusively for Maserati".

The first Australian-delivered Maserati with the silk and leather option – a Ghibli model – has been handed over to a delighted young female buyer from Sydney.

At prices ranging between $12,000 and $15,000, the Zegna silk option pack (which also includes classy Harmon Kardon sound and 19-inch wheels) won't be an automatic tick on the options list. But Maserati expects the take-up rate to be around an impressive 10 per cent. Maserati owners appreciate quality and enjoy a level of exclusivity, we're told.

The female skew is growing, too. Just five years ago, the Maserati brand, with its emphasis on performance, was considered very much the Italian stallion, with just two per cent of female buyers. Today, with its broader range of offerings, women account for 30-35 per cent of sales in some models.

Ticking the boxes

It remains to be seen whether Ermenegildo Zegna's most prominent Australian client, Paul Keating, will make the big step to the ultimate accessory to complement his immaculate tailored suits.

Core priorities for Maserati purchases are, in descending order, performance, design, craftsmanship, "made in Italy" credo, and exclusivity. Sealey suggests that Zegna ticks four of those five boxes, performance being the one it can't quite deliver. "Combine the Ermenegildo Zegna interior with, say, the top-of-the-range Ghibli or Quattroporte and you have the works."

The Zegna silk option will not be offered on its current sports car range. They're probably too near being superseded for consideration.

However the unmistakable Ermenegildo Zegna influence is likely to be part of the new Levante glamour SUV to be launched next year.

Who would have thought that the finest silk could be used in a four-wheel drive? Then again not so long ago it would have been fanciful to suggest Maserati might ever produce a SUV.

http://www.executivestyle.com.au/mas...olstery-glpoeu