TFL Colour Trends Autumn-Winter 2026-27

Welcome to TFL’s new Colour Trend Catalogue for the season Autumn-Winter 2026-27. In this brochure we present the colour trends for leather garment, footwear, accessories and upholstery.

Wearing

In recent years, there has been a preference for imitation finishes, which do not distinguish leather and turn it into an empty and impersonal material, instead of making it more “striking”. The unique characteristics have been negated and the creative side of R&D has been sidelined in favour of overproduction, which makes it difficult to reposition oneself in the markets.

It is time to reorganise, to put the materials and the collections in order. The socio-economic and financial crisis can help us to do this by demonstrating the need to make, yes, it must be said, a new start. In our project we have focused on both the aesthetic and utilitarian function of the skin as a raw material whose form and function complement each other, identifying four primary functions: protective, informative, sensory and technological, while being aware that in fashion the boundaries between these categories are extremely permeable.

In the protective realm, the Warm Patchouli theme introduces the topics of natural and embossed grains, starting with wetblue leather, retanned using polymers such as MAGNOPAL® 450 or LEUKOTAN® 1093. In this way, experts create a tight and firm substrate on which, after fatliquoring and dyeing, a myriad of timeless embossed patterns can be applied.

The informative function is the more on the hedonistic side, called ‘Nightlife Emotion’. It focuses on the wet end retanning process, which lightens the fiber and gives it a warm and soft touch. Worth mentioning here are the “Burnishing Wet End Products”, which work well in combination with products from the “Burnishing Finishing Products” range. These together form a perfect base for polishing and burnishing effects.

The sensory side is interpreted by the “Shetland-Ireland” theme, which explores the two sides of the fleece: the silky suede, shiny, brilliant and intense, brought out by the SELLASET® drum dyes, and the warm and enveloping side of the suede splits, achieved by the light weight and yet filling capacity of MAGNOPAL® IPF.

Finally, the “Formula Indy” technology of the LEVOTAN® product family offers waterproofing that can be finished thanks to the adhesive power based on RODA® Pur 64/N, supported by crosslinking solutions from the AQUADERM® XL and RODA® Link families.

The high-performance polycarbonate AQUADERM® Finish HAT/N, combined with RODA® Wax 4001, perfectly imparts a molten glass like gloss to full grain articles.

Living

Today, more than ever before, designers and manufacturers are faced with a vast and growing field of possibilities in which material choices and transformation processes can be combined to create a “hyper-choice”. For any given product, there is no longer just one material that stands out, but several competing materials. In this context, all the efforts made by the tannery are aimed at bringing out the beauty and authenticity of the leather.

Regarding the ductile structure of the tanning process, let’s start with Beamhouse: by now it is clear to all customers how the SELLATAN® PA technology has the least impact on the environment and how PELTEC® X-ZYME S technology allows a uniform “opening up” of the fiber structure, to ensure maximal cutting yield.

The world of chrome tanning remains the universally preferred solution for most customers. The LEVOTAN® family of polymers, thanks to their ability to fill collagen without affecting the weight of the leather, are the key to the success of all full grain and drum dyed articles. Even the aluminum based TANNESCO® FC, when used in combinations with resistant polymers and synthetic tannins ensure that the calfskin fiber and grain is regular, giving dimensional stability vital in the furnishing sector.

Every day, the thermoforming and 3D printing processes erode the place of antiquated leather processing, creating new development opportunities in the world of 100% vegetable leathers. We mention TANIGAN® Pure T-A, the renewable biopolymer that in combination with different retanning processes makes the leather ideal for furniture leather with an organic spirit where function and emotion can be combined.

In addition to the tactile and decorative identity of the leather, the colour is also important. The chemical/tanning efforts are focused on creating splits with pure white tones through the development of glutaraldehyde-based tanning, SELLATAN® WL-G and the innovative X-TAN® liquid. Both tanning agents are the preferred basis for bright nappas as elegant and soft as freshly wrapped butter.

The impalpability of all these surfaces created in the wet phase are the basis for innovative finishing solutions in which more than a dozen pre-bottoms and upgrading products from the RODA® Care, the RODA® Reco and the AQUADERM® X-Grade families level out the leather, cover over defects and prepare the way for make-up solutions leading us to the long-awaited three-dimensionality of leather and its products.