Continuing on with examples of Japanese craftsmanship in the new Lexus LS, here’s a video detailing the available Alcantara pleated door panels:
[Lexus LS chief designer Koichi] Suga outlined his ideas to a colour designer, who worked with a skilled fabric artisan from Kyoto. Together they produced Hand Pleats, a new fabric pleating technique that creates a three-dimensional pattern that is pleasing to the eye and touch.
It took four years to develop the hand-pleating upholstery process, which can only be carried out by human hand. It mirrors the work of the finest Origami artists, requiring individual lengths of Alcantara cloth to be expertly folded like a sheet of paper, with each fold carefully overlapping the next to create the desired pleating effect.
(It’s worth pointing out that this is an extended version of another LS video.)