In an immersive journey into the universe of XL EXTRALIGHT®, an ingredient technology that has revolutionised the footwear and design industry since the 1990s, INDUSTREAM provides an anatomical analysis of an industrial process that is as complex as it is mysterious, in which chemical science, engineering, technology and the human factor are perfectly integrated, giving rise to an Italian leader in the world of special and innovative materials for the world of fashion, luxury and design.

Andrea Caputo – assisted by Invernomuto – makes an attempt that is as hermeneutic as it is demiurgic to give shape and vision to the industrial and technological processes that make XL EXTRALIGHT® a unique ingredient of its kind, capable of imparting form and substance to ultra-lightweight objects with surprising characteristics.

From the dawn of time itself, the very concept of matter has been intrinsically linked to human existence. In fact, retracing our history from the Copper Age to the frontier of Artificial Intelligence, we observe that there has been no revolution – whether cultural or industrial – that has not been traversed by the dialectic between matter and technology. From steel to rare earth, via oil and silicone, the evolution of society and industrial technologies is inextricably linked with that of raw materials and their derivatives, so much so that it shapes their geopolitical destiny, like a paradox.

Carlo Vecchiola, Foam Design Product & Brand Manager XL EXTRALIGHT® :“At Fuorisalone 2024 we had the idea to create something completely different from previous editions.This is why we have started a conversation with Andrea Caputo and his team to end up at Dropcity, the place to be for those who want to experiment and implement new design codes and visual experiences. For the first time, since we have been exhibiting at the Milan Design Week way back in 2014, XL EXTRALIGHT® is unveiling its industrial process from compounding to injection moulding in an immersive museum itinerary. An ambitious project that we really hope involves the visitor as much as possible in our universe.”

The curator’s intention, as well as that of the collective of artists who contributed to it, is not so much to unveil the intangible and often invisible processes that underpin the XL EXTRALIGHT® universe, but – rather – to make this ingredient brand the object of an analytical experimentation, capable of revealing to us how magical the science of processes which hides behind the scenes of an industrial stream is. As if to tell us that behind every product we wear or use, there is a mysterious world of science, technology, culture, design and unmistakable human intelligence.