We wanted to update a piece of classic automotive design for the low carbon, post-leather era. So we made a driving glove for a new generation E.V.
Some context: we started with the car interior. Specifically, the interior of CUPRA’s new Dark Rebel show car, designed using a custom version of our low carbon, biodegradable material Banbū, made from 83% plants.
This Banbū is so smooth, with such a soft and velvety finish (only appropriate for a totally futuristic E.V.) that a glove made from the same material felt like a necessary next step.
We worked hard on this glove.
And good news! It turns out that a successful car interior and a successful driving glove have a lot in common.
When driving gloves first appeared in the 1890s, there was no heating in cars, and many steering wheels were made from wood (splinters! Ouch!) and required a firm grip, since the cars lacked power steering.
130 years later, and we don’t have to worry about wooden steering wheels or icy hands anymore but the strain of driving on muscles and joints is real. Did you know that most truck drivers wear gloves?
Traditional driving gloves are still made from leather but we’re happy to report that the our glove, and the car interior that inspired it, are low carbon, highly durable and made from plants.
No animals were harmed in the process of harvesting, spinning and weaving the material they’re made from, and when they finally come to the end of their life, will biodegrade back into the soil.
Sometimes you do need to reinvent the wheel - and the gloves on the hands that steer it.