Henri Guenoun has always specialized in leather. In 1990 he decided to stop working and take a sabbatical year to review his career and try to anticipate the future of this noble material that he knew so well. He was particularly interested in the specific characteristics of leather and textiles. Like most fabrics, leather comes into its own in the creation of clothes, shoes, belts and other types of garments.

As early as 1920, industrialists in the textiles sector sought to develop the means that would give textiles more elasticity, allowing them to adapt to the wearers movements. In 1985, the addition of Elastane fibres to various textile fibres led to the creation of innovative materials and opened new design horizons, especially in the creation of clothes. This new property, giving fabrics a high level of elasticity while doing away with wrinkles, was a revolution in the textiles sector.

Designers dreamed of giving leather this same property, allowing it to retain its initial suppleness without alteration or deformation. Henri Guenoun concentrated his inventive powers on the problem and, in 1992, filed a patent for stretch leather.

Working with a tannery in southern France, he put his patent into practice and produced a number of prototypes. This led to the presentation of his innovative product at a trade show and immediately attracted a number of customers, including some of the most prestigious names in the sector. They saw this innovation as the answer to their need to have a supple, comfortable and shape-retaining leather able to provide extraordinary sculptural possibilities.

This was the birth of stretch leather, a process patented in France and across Europe.

The 21st century has seen a growing fascination for this almost living material. But, victim of its own success, stretch leather has its counterfeiters, so beware imitations!