Two themes for summer 2011

TFL have divided their colour trends into two main themes ‘Wearing’ and ‘Living’, dedicating a section to each within the book. Wearing comprises inspirations and colour trends for garment, footwear and accessories whereas in the Living section all colours are presented that will decorate the season’s interior design.
TFL offer their customers the advantage of knowledge of the future colour preferences and the trends help designers, manufacturers and tanners stay one step ahead of the market. In combination with the fashion colour trends TFL also provide information about the appropriate dyes to use and dye
application.
Italian designers, using a panel of international expert colourists, have selected the TFL Colour Trends spring/summer 2011 for the leather industry. These sources guarantee the global relevance of the TFL Colour Trend Catalogue.

TFL COOL System
Also contained in the latest colour trends brochure, TFL have also provided tanners with a better understanding of the COOL System. It explains that you can use their COOL-technology for dark colours.
The concept, they claim, will not only be fashionable but will also mean that the wearer also remains cooler using leathers containing the COOL system technology. Therefore wearing darker colours in warmer seasons is no longer a ‘no-no’ but a cool idea. With COOL dyes, this is also possible in the summer time.

Wearing
Colour and transparency are the basis of the next summer season. The 2011 colour trends for spring/summer want us to stop the minimalism and let strong colours open more possibilities. What impact does this have on the leather surfaces? The summer season brings super thin, soft nubuck, eroded by the sun.
TFL reference the African elephant horn in highly opaque vegetable leathers polished by wood. The Japanese ‘Raku’ pottery shows us new metal-pearl reflections in bronze-turquoise, copper-green, gold-clay and platinum-lilac. Dense suede leathers are decorated with coral accessories, super-thin or reversible, nappalan finishes or sprinkled in various shades are mixed with engravings of the seabed and exotic fishes. The maritime topic is present in the Wearing colours, eg thin lacquer on the shells of the noble Indonesian pearls.

Living
The freshness of the sea accompanies us in the Living section. The Living colours of the spring/summer 2011 season bring a slight breeze from the Ionian shores into our houses.
New marine shades are developed on nubuck surfaces that are enhanced with the Scotchgard leather protector. In the bright shades of dyed wet-white, we feel the freshness of clothes laid out in the sun and colours of the candy ‘smarties’: a strong yellow, a lucent orange and light blue. Colours are prepared with the TFL COOL System to prevent that sense of warmth.
On the leather surfaces, we see negative embossing with a waxy touch and numerous pull-up leathers. All these elements, in combination with the laser decorations, give the leather a tri-dimensional effect, which is definitely the must of the season.
Additionally to the colour trends, TFL presents the respective article trends on leather in the section Wearing.

Technical applications:
Moroccan Interior - Armellah
Calfskin embossed with a python belly pattern. The whitening effect is obtained using Roda wax 4039. Roda wax 4039 is used on buffed leather for shoe upper articles in order to obtain a particular bleached effect, such as ‘chalky’ type. When brushed, it gives an intense darkening effect.
Morokko
Glossy vegetable tanned calfskin with an antique effect given by Roda wax 2009. Roda wax 2009 is used in order to obtain a darkening effect on buffed vegetable leather. A good application for fashion articles, giving natural antique effects after milling. It can be applied by spray or rollercoater. High temperature ironing (110-130°C) provides complete wax melting and darkening effect.
Underwear style
Eugenie
Super soft double-coloured bovine.
Cassiopea
Embossed lambskin buffed on top and finished with a washed effect. The touch is talc-like and waxy thanks to Roda wax 4097.
Roda wax 4097 is a wax especially formulated in order to obtain a burnish effect on full grain or buffed leather with low reactivity, like chrome-tanned articles. It does not affect the final softness of the leather and it helps in maintaining a natural look with a warm and waxy feel. It shows a high degree of gloss when it is applied on full grain leather after hot plating at 120°C.
1968/1972
Polaris
Silky, glossy and soft nubuck on baby calf with a stain and water resistant treatment.
Globular
Wrinkled burnish-type wet-white on calfskin with a waxy effect given by Roda wax KCF 8801/A. Roda wax KCF 8801/A is a product intended for the production of leather with a strong pull-up effect. It is applied by rollercoater and it must be heated above its melting point (40-50°C) and kept at this temperature for all the working process. The darkening effect is obtained by subsequent ironing at a high temperature.