By Jesse Scott
The past several years have seen an increasing number of synergies develop between the fashion and automotive industries. High-profile collaborations, such as Hermès x Bugatti and Tod's for Ferrari, have highlighted the natural pairing of luxury fashion with luxury vehicles. Both industries have placed a significant focus on sustainability and new technologies, often in tandem. Fashion brands have re-purposed upcycled materials left over from automotive design. And automotive companies have in turn looked at the fashion world for inspiration as they seek to design beautiful interiors with a clear identity and compelling story.
Laetitia Lopez and Mara Kapsis, Design Manager and Design Lead for Cadillac respectively, are emblematic of this paradigm. Coming from diverse international backgrounds, both Laetitia and Mara began careers at Cadillac to pursue their passion for design and their desire to shape the aesthetic of the future. Cars are their chosen medium for storytelling, but their rich backgrounds in textile and interior design inform everything that they do.
I recently sat down with Laetitia and Mara to discuss the relationship between cars and fashion, their roles as custodians of the Cadillac legacy, and the creative side businesses that allow them to combine their passions. Highlights are below.
JS: Tell me about your journey to Cadillac. Laetitia, I understand that you're originally from France. What led you to the world of automotive design and eventually to a career in the US?
LL: I'm from the south of France but I did my studies in Paris at a design school. During my studies I had the chance to do a couple of internships in fashion and design, for example at Hermès and with Andrée Putman, a famous French architect/interior designer who also worked with furniture. The key moment for me was when an automotive supplier came to my school and presented about CMF (colors, materials, and finishes) in the automotive industry. I fell in love with this; to me CMF was an opportunity to work as a fashion designer but with vehicles. I used to work for GM in Germany and now I have been on their Cadillac team for nine years.
JS: Let's dive into this relationship between the automotive and fashion industries. Why do you analogize CMF designers to fashion designers?
LL: You can use colors, materials, and finishes to provide an identity to a brand and an experience to customers. This is what really seduced me when I first learned about the career path. You can take a very tactical and visual approach to the job and you have the ability to play with so many different parameters and challenges.
JS: Mara, let's talk about your journey into automotive design. Did you have a similar path to Laetitia?
MK: I'm from Australia and I studied textile design in university there. I grew up around textiles as an art form and originally approached them from a craft and interior design perspective.
When I was studying, I didn't really know about automotive design; it wasn't part of my experience and I didn't realize all of the work that goes on behind the scenes of our cars! I was lucky enough to do an industry project with General Motors and then a year-long internship with Holden [an Australian automotive manufacturer]. The experience was so eye-opening for me. I was used to working with textiles and embellishments. But taking these skills into the completely different context of automotive design, where I could apply textiles to different surfaces and see all of these materials come together, was really inspiring and exciting for me.
After I'd done CMF for four years in Australia I took a break from it to start a small business creating screen-printed homewares. This really grounded me back into the craft of the textile discipline. But I missed the energy that we have in the automotive industry, and the excitement of working with a bigger team…studio designers, engineers, marketing, etc. That's what led me to GM and North America ten years ago.
JS: It's so interesting to see how you're bringing your interior design and textile perspectives to CMF. And the influence goes both ways! Laetitia, I understand that you started a business making wall art and jewelry from upcycled automotive materials.
LL: As CMF designers we get to learn about how cars are built; for example, I've visited the plants where the seating and door panels are constructed. We work with a lot of leather, hide, and vinyl, which leaves us with offcuts that we have no plan for. Some automotive companies are now recycling these offcuts through fashion brands, who can use them to make items such as watch bands. Even then, however, there is still some waste.
I'm in love with these beautiful materials - they have a life, they have a story, and they can say so much. I used to collect offcuts not knowing what to do with them but now I am working with them to create something new. It's been an exciting journey. I have no knowledge of how to stitch things so I started by weaving pieces together to showcase colors and textures in wall art, jewelry, and things like this.
JS: How do you balance tradition with modernity in your work? Cadillac is obviously a legendary brand but also one in the vanguard of avant-garde automotive design.
LL: Cadillac, like many big fashion houses, has a rich and precious heritage. Our history is one of bold statements and grand arrivals - and it's tied into the history of America. It's important for us to celebrate these things through our designs, colors, and materials. I love vintage fashion, and it inspires me a lot in my work. But of course we need to be aligned with the current market and our customers' needs.
MK: When creating an environment and experience around our Cadillacs, we want to have a balance of longevity and modernity. I too am really inspired by the heritage aspect. Coming to Detroit from Australia I saw that there is so much history here that's really understated. Going to Cranbrook [a famous fine arts academy] and learning about the midcentury designers that spent time here is really amazing for me. Even on our campus here, there's so many incredible sculptures and furniture that speak to a certain lifestyle and Cadillac's design history. This very much influences my work.
JS: Let's talk about the future. As a fashion editor I'm seeing an increasing amount of automotive/fashion crossovers; how do you see this synergy from the automotive design side?
MK: I'm noticing that trends typical to the interior design and fashion worlds are now entering an automotive setting. CMF used to feel more practical in terms of materials that would show up; now we're taking a more artful approach to create something that feels inviting and comfortable. Like in fashion, we're also focused on sustainability. For example, in the Cadillac OPTIQ, we're integrating textiles made of 100% recycled yarns using really new applications. We're playing with non-traditional placements; for example using these yarns in our doors…along the console…to create a softness in these surfaces. The OPTIQ also integrates upcycled newspaper into these beautiful wood decorations.
LL: Like for many fashion designers with their clothes, the most important thing for me is to provide personalities for our vehicles. We want our customers to see themselves in what we're offering…for the vehicle to be a tool for communicating who they are.
