March 2008

Eternal summer

LANXESS presents the latest leather trends

 

Leverkusen – A couple of seasons ago everything was loud, smooth and glossy, and preferably blue or kiwi, then we had the 70s revival in orange and mauve – so what’s next? The experts at LANXESS AG know the answer. This year the leather team at the specialty chemical company – one of the market leaders in leather chemistry and technology – has once again compiled a “leather trend book” to show tanneries what next season’s trends are going to be, what colors, structures and surface touches will be in fashion in Spring/Summer 2009. And on the practical side, there are also formulations and processing suggestions.

 

“Each year the leather sector eagerly awaits news of the latest fashion trends,” says Bianca Verstegen, product manager in LANXESS’s Leather business unit, reporting from Milan, “because the sooner a manufacturer knows what is going to be in demand in the coming season the better. In the leather industry it is not just the colors that are important. These are generally dictated by the textile sector. Tanners also have to know what kind of surface touch, appearance and overall impression are wanted for fashionable upper leather, whether brushed or glossy, nubuck or patent, imitation crocodile or abstract grain patterns. All these factors determine whether a leather is in keeping with the trend or not. We help our customers to be prepared.”

 

LANXESS’s leather experts have their finger on the pulse. And they have the benefit of a leather competence center complete with laboratory and applications development department in Italy, one of the centers of the fashion industry. They are also supported in their work by a well-known designer and stylist who is at home in all the major Italian fashion houses and is up to the minute with fashion developments around the world. Together they have come up with four visions for 2009:

 

Poetic Irony – Sheer – Sensual

 

Passion, desire and humanity are fashions that never go out of fashion.
Poetry is communication that uses sensual colors for constant interplay between fact and fantasy. This theme needs no explanation; its sensuality should simply be savored. Materials which wrap around the body, sensual to the touch, sheer and rich, enhancing the emotional senses.

 

Energy – Individuality – Creativity

 

Youth loves life and lightness of spirit and is bursting with energy, the perfect ingredients for originality and imagination. An expressive and dynamic theme where modern colors bring life to a mix of surprises and accents. Original materials ... space for creativity.

 

Charm & Intuition = Perfect Future

 

Invention and creation are much more difficult now than they were in the past when people traveled and communicated less. Today, with the Internet, the world lives in real time with fashion, sport, cinema and music. People are no longer surprised, except by a desire for real and positive change without waste for a magical and perfect future. In this theme, color combinations leave no room for indecision. Bright and firm materials blend like a modern and innovative game.

 

Eternal Summer – Lust for Life

 

Sunshine!! Happiness strikes the soul in summer… warm, sunny days are reflected in the faces of people having light-hearted fun. Sunshine colors predominate in this theme. Fresh and natural materials, which absorb the negativity and blues of a cold, gray winter. Plant-based materials, dried and colored nabuk, soft calfskin that gives the feeling of walking barefoot and free, whilst relishing a never-ending summer.

 

“We have taken these inspiring visions and translated them into reality,” says Pino Latini, head of the Italian Innovation Competence Center, “and we will help our customers do the same.” In addition to the collection of samples, LANXESS’s leather experts also provide users with recipes and processing suggestions to help them achieve the desired results quickly. “Our leather experts support interested customers worldwide, offering individual service at the customers’ own plants to enable them to produce leathers with the desired characteristics,” says Latini. “That is a genuine competitive advantage for our customers, because time is money – even in the fashion industry.”

 

LANXESS will be presenting the leather trend book at the FIMEC trade fair in Novo Hamburgo, Brazil. For a first impression of the poetry, energy and charm of the new trends in leather go to www.lanxessleather.com

 

LANXESS is a leading specialty chemical company, with sales of EUR 6.94 billion in 2006 and over 14,500 employees in 21 countries around the world. The company has operations at 47 sites worldwide. LANXESS’s core business comprises the development, manufacture and sale of specialty chemicals, plastics, rubber and intermediates.

 
Leverkusen, March 12, 2008 
bol  (2008-0045e)

 
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by LANXESS AG management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

 

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