Alcantara: a specifier's insight into the original vegan suede

What it is, how it behaves on a wall and on a seat, and what changes when the job is a yacht.

Alcantara has become a generic word. Clients ask for it when they mean any synthetic suede, and some suppliers are happy to let them. It is not generic. It is a trademarked material made by one company, Alcantara S.p.A., in Italy, and the colour consistency, the test data and the certification all belong to the genuine product rather than to the category.

This is how we think about it at Studio 198, where it sits in the range as vegan suede for both upholstery and wallcovering.

Alcantara is a non-woven microfibre with a sueded surface, made from roughly 68% polyester and 32% polyurethane. It has been produced in Italy since the early 1970s, with manufacturing at Nera Montoro in Umbria.

It looks and feels like fine suede, but it is engineered rather than split from a hide. It contains no animal material, which is why we list it as vegan suede. One point of honesty: vegan means animal-free, not natural. This is a synthetic material, and if a client's brief is natural fibres only, Alcantara is the wrong answer.

We stock it in two forms, and they are not interchangeable.

• Master Evo, wallcovering. Supplied unbacked. Installation is a specialist job that needs the right substrate and adhesive, so talk to us before you order. We can arrange installation.
• Multilayer Evo, upholstery. Supplied with a backing for seating, headboards, banquettes and similar pieces.

One detail catches people out. Alcantara only supplies samples in the Multilayer format, so the sample you hold has a knit backing that the unbacked wallcovering will not have. The face is the same, but the sample will handle slightly differently from the roll.

Both ranges offer more than 70 colours. Both are sold by the metre with a three metre minimum.

Alcantara works best where you want a quiet, dense surface without pattern: headboard walls, bars and lounges, media rooms, the inside of wardrobes and cabinetry, ceilings. It absorbs light rather than reflecting it, which gives a room depth that paint and most papers cannot. If you are weighing it against fabric wall panels, our guide to upholstered walls covers the alternatives.

The practical points matter more than the look:

• Keep the nap running one way. Suede surfaces shade differently when brushed against the pile. Every drop should run in the same direction, and the installer should know before they start.
• Plan your joins. On a large wall, seams are visible. Decide where they fall in advance rather than finding out on site.
• Avoid high-touch zones in dark colours. Hand oils and fingermarks show on the nap. A mid tone is more forgiving beside a door or a bedhead.
• Repair is hard. You cannot patch it the way you can patch a paper. Treat it as a finish to protect.

Because it is sold by the metre rather than the roll, our guide on how much wallpaper you need explains how to calculate quantities for metre-sold materials.

Headboards, banquettes, accent chairs and sofas are the natural homes for Multilayer Evo. It is warm to the touch, softer than most leathers, and it does not develop a patina the way leather does, which is a benefit or a drawback depending on the client. If the choice is between the two, our upholstery leather guide covers the leather side.

Care is where expectations need setting. Body oils can darken the nap on dark colours at headrests and armrests. The nap can crush and brush flat in use, and a soft brush brings it back. Spills should be blotted, not rubbed. Follow Alcantara's own cleaning guidance, and give clients a copy.

Fire performance depends on the exact product and how it is made up, not on the name Alcantara. For UK contract and hospitality work, ask for the certificate for the specific line and check that it covers the complete make-up with the filling. Our fabric fire safety guide explains the tests.

Alcantara is a familiar material in yacht interiors, and that brings a different rulebook. Vessels under SOLAS work to the IMO 2010 FTP Code, and general contract certification does not transfer.

• Part 5 covers surface flammability for bulkhead, ceiling and deck finishes, which is where wallcoverings and panel finishes sit.
• Part 8 covers upholstered furniture, tested as a composite of cover and filling rather than the cloth alone.
• Part 7 covers vertically supported textiles such as curtains and draperies.

Three things follow for anyone specifying Alcantara on a vessel. First, do not assume the standard range carries marine approval. Ask for the IMO certificate for the exact product and use. Second, approval attaches to the tested combination: a certificate for the cloth does not clear a finished settee, because the foam and construction are part of the test. Third, marine requirements, minimums and lead times can differ from the standard range, so raise it at enquiry stage rather than at order stage.

• Wet and outdoor spaces. It is an interior material. Bathrooms, terraces and exposed locations are not what it is for.
• Wipe-clean requirements. If spills are constant, as in children's dining chairs or busy restaurant seating, a coated or vinyl surface will serve you better.
• Tight budgets. It is priced as a premium material. If the budget cannot carry it, a cheaper synthetic suede will not perform like it, so choose a different look instead of a lookalike.
• Natural-only briefs. See section 01.

Order samples first, and check dark shades under the lighting the room will actually have, since suede nap reads differently in daylight and under warm lamps. Remember the knit backing on the sample. Tell us early if the project is marine or contract, so the right certificates are requested before anything is cut.