The 17th of November has seen the end of this year’s edition of METS – Marine Equipment Trade Show in Amsterdam METS is the most important international fair for members of the accessories sector, subcontracting, materials and components for recreational boating. Leather, of course, played a big part in the show. After the good results of the Genoa Boat Show (20-25 September), also from Holland comes a degree of optimism for the sector. There has been an increase in the number of exhibitors registered (one more pavilion had to be added compared to last year edition) and visitors multiplied. A big and crowded space was dedicated to ‘Super-yachts’, a luxury segment which has seen an increased use of high-profile leather. Interior design for boats has become an industry with enormous potential. “We live in a ‘new Renaissance’ era for boating. There is a patron of the arts, which in this case is the owner, who has decided to pursue a single masterpiece: his yacht ” said Giovanni Giuntoli, CEO of LIID (Luxury Italian Interior Design) at the Global Forum SYP 2016 METS. LIID (Luxury Italian Interior Design) is a network of companies active in the luxury furniture market, which includes Royal Leather, a Tuscan company specialising in the application of leather to interior yacht design. For these masterpieces, owners do not shy away from hiring top designers (the so-called “superstars”), using the latest technology and requesting the finest materials available in the world. “In the nautical sector, leather is perceived as a luxury material in its various applications: flooring, wall coverings, countertops. What matters is to create unique products, custom made, which respond to specific customer requirements. At LIID everything is custom as, for example, the “light skin” created this year by Royal Leather with Promotech Italy (another company within the LIID’s umbrella that deals with lighting): it’s a leather that has been micro-drilling with laser which allows, with the lights are switched off, to appreciate the material and, once the light is on, to admire a complex design.
