Dickson says it has launched the largest range of awning fabrics on the market with its Orchestra 2008 collection

The Orchestra 2008 collection features brand-new textiles that imitate the effects of natural fabrics such as hemp or linen. Isabelle Rodier, a textile designer and co-founder of the Robert Le Héros brand, has co-designed the range. The new collection includes 23 new plain colours and 62 new combinations, with both plain and striped designs available. Orchestra 2008 reflects current trends, featuring fashionable colours such as Mineral Green, Cacao, Taupe Maroon and Castor Brown.

The collection features striped fabrics that work with any style – urban, classic or designer. Orchestra 2008 can also be used for exterior architecture or for shades for gardens and terraces.

The Orchestra fabric offers optimal solar and thermal protection. This high-tech concentrate textile filters between 90 per cent and 100 per cent of UV rays, while retaining over 70 per cent of sunlight. It also blocks at least 70 per cent of solar heat, ensuring that the awning acts as a natural air-conditioning system. The Orchestra collection also uses Cleanguard technology, a process based on fluoride nano-molecules that provide fabric with unprecedented resistance to stains, oil and water.

Dickson manufacturers top-of-the-range textiles using a wide range of fabrics, which can be used both for outdoor/indoor furnishings and for applications in the shipping, automotive and aerospace industries. The company focuses on innovation, with 40 per cent of its turnover coming from products created within the past three years.

Its fabrics are designed to provide energy savings and to be environmentally friendly. Its R&D is focused both on fabric customisation and on the creation of new high-performance materials such as fireproof, self-cleaning or mosquito-proof fabrics.

• Dickson Constant