TFL Colour Trends Spring-Summer 2026

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

Wearing

Flower maidens on a boat off a shoreline awash in the light ofsummer that explodes in a myriad of luminous points, illuminatingtheir faces. This image is the almost unparalleled expressionof sentimentality by the painter Caspar David Friedrich thatmost elegantly introduces a return to feelings in collections, andto the need for tenderness in fashion and in private life, on theheels of a decade of unrelenting social media and information.Neutral shades, beiges and grays return to leather in general,from the most sophisticated kidskin to the ethereal appeal ofnappa sprayed with new acrylic polymers, and even nubuck,the trend setter for the next summer season, whose fresh colorpalette also includes water-repellent versions that combinebeauty and functionality.The approach to a plant-based world is improved and mademore concrete through greater reliance on new ingredients,such as Tanigan® PURE TA, a new plant-based tanning agentmade from renewable sources that endows materials withcleanliness, compactness and softness.Full-grain leathers see a forceful return to the 3D theme, enhancedwith removable finishes that are brushed or buffed inthe tanneries, offering the market ready-to-use materials. Themost rewarding tone is earth, a throwback to cosmetics fromthe 1980s, that acts to lighten the grain of the leather in warmshades ranging from gold to a sumptuous ochre.The slicked back hair and highlights of celebrities like Maneskinor Duran Duran from the 1980s provide the inspiration forpearly and metallic finishes antiqued with contrasting waxes,glossy wet coatings and glitter varnish.Bright shades dominate the mood in the unlined tassels forapparel and in the tumbled leather for large, fringed bags, justas the suede splits are brightened with the warm and intensechromatic tones used for “Electrique” sneakers.The washed-leather look is still very much alive, both in the fullgrainversions and in nubuck surfaces; an upgrade is offered byslightly wrinkled prints, by low-key two-tone effects producedby transparent pigments bonded with polyurethanes and impalpablewaxes, and by touch and scent sensations that recalllaundry hung out by housewives.

Living

It takes talent to combine creativity and proper perspectiveto see far into the future and bring life to the world of leathergoods in the home furnishing and automotive sectors. The abilityto gather all these input streams and blend them perfectly interms of performance is necessary to place both the natural andthe artificial world side by side in a functional and sustainableperspective.Innovation in the tanning world begins during the processingand the benefits are seen from the use of new tannins withoutbisphenols (see the Tanigan® family) and reducing the use ofmineral oils by selecting new acrylic polymers (see Levotan®),and thin and tenacious resins such as Retingan®.The blending of these substances helps unlock the secret of“comfort”, an essential characteristic for any home furnishingsystem.The voice of Mother Earth provides the creative lifeblood for theworld of plant-based retanning. Global players in the home furnishingsector see large profits arising from the propensity to usesometimes even non-uniform natural leathers, whose genuinecharacteristics make it possible for manufacturers to branch outinto innovative technical and cosmetic solutions.The great outdoors is the main theme of every collection, thanksto a desire to live in the open air even in cities and the amount ofgreenery that is now part of all new projects and renovations. Itis an ambitious challenge for the tanning world given the tests towhich the leather is subjected: light, rubbing, wear and tear, etc.The propensity to live well, which for many people includes ahealthy diet and personal well-being, influences architects andinterior designers to choose leathers that are extremely soft tothe touch and have neutral shades, “slow-washing” aspects formacro seats and pouffes in all shapes, with dollaro and deerskingrains used for tumbled surfaces with the injection of waxesand silicones (see the Roda® Feel family), where they take on animpalpable quality.Homes are being designed to integrate nature and technologywith ample space for stylized and functional benches and chairscovered with splits impregnated with polyurethane compounds(see the Roda® Reco-based family), producing both a flat andrugged look that is visually appealing. More expensive homesand hotel lobbies will see the use of plant-based tanned cowhide(see the new Tanigan® PURE TA and Sellatan® TMC), along withanti-soiling solutions to ensure a completely exclusive interiordesign feel.