Lewis’s talk will give an overview of how traditional crafted materials meet McLaren’s modern luxury approach, delving into McLaren’s philosophy, the design development of leather at the brand, as well as giving an overview of product line collaborations, its flagship models and the future role of the material leather for the company.
The ‘ILM Digital Automotive Leather Supply Chain Forum’ will be a 2.5 – 3 hour online event hosting high-calibre industry speakers, as well as a number of interactive features such as Q&A, discussion, live polls and virtual networking opportunities.
About Jo Lewis
Lewis has been responsible for all colour and material design delivery across all McLaren products, including McLaren Special Operations. She is responsible for the creative colour & materials design vision and strategy for all current and future products at McLaren Automotive. Her career journey began in textile design, graduating from the RCA (Royal College of Arts) in 2007, then establishing various roles within design industries including fashion design at Stella McCartney, product design, materials design, innovation and engineering at TWI in Cambridge, followed by the leap into automotive design, having worked with brands such as JLR and Lotus.
Since joining McLaren in 2016, Lewis has developed and implemented new CMD processes and delivered CMD for 11 McLaren products, with particular focus on re-defining ‘the pinnacle’ of colour & materials through the customer journey for the company’s Ultimate series Hyper-GT, Speedtail. Through the development of this project Lewis has driven innovation, being first to market with unique and innovative materials design, as well as increasing the opportunity for truly bespoke customisation to a level never seen before at McLaren. In 2017, she was awarded the winner of the Autocar Women Designer of the year award.
