Say hello to faux (leather)
New covers offer stylish alternative to natural hides
By Susan M. Andrews -- Furniture Today, April 26, 2006
At The Market — Move over leather. Say hello to faux.
In the B.C. (before China) era, leather upholstery was a luxury product, which made it an aspirational purchase for most American consumers. Thanks to China, however, leather furniture is now within reach of almost everybody who drops by the local discounter, and imported leather can cost less than fabric. What's there to aspire to now?
You guessed it — faux leather is the hot ticket in 2006. In that earlier era, vinyl for residential upholstery was often a sad fake that fooled no one — the poor man's leather, if you will. Often hot or cold, or sticky or stiff, the best you could say was that it was tough and affordable.
Big improvements
But these days there are faux leathers that are stunningly realistic looking; faux leathers that behave like fabric so they don't have to be vented; faux leathers with a "green" story, being produced with environmentally friendly technology; and faux leathers created from the same microdenier fibers that gave us the ubiquitous suede fabrics that have almost swamped the market. Best of all, no animal is harmed in the production of faux leathers, and they have performance characteristics that often exceed standards for contract applications.
Many faux leathers are polyurethane products, which is commonly recognized as being an environmentally friendly synthetic material. Even polyvinylchloride is relatively "green," especially compared to the tanning process for animal hides. Brisa, for example, from Ultrafabrics, and Valtekz, a division of Valley Forge Textiles, are produced in environmentally responsible ways. Brisa and UV-resistant Brisa Soleil, which are engineered to breathe like fabric, are polyurethanes made without heavy metal or formaldehyde. In addition, the backing is biodegradable and most solvents used in the production are captured and recycled. Valtekz products produced in Germany are subject to strict European environmental regulations and don't require the toxic dyes that are often used in the production of fabric and animal hide leathers, which pollute rivers and ground water.
The durability of some faux leathers is remarkable, with many of the products exceeding 200,000 double rubs.
Other advantages of faux leather are that it comes on a roll just like fabric and moves through an upholstery manufacturing operation in exactly the same way as fabric. Its consistency allows an extremely high yield, unlike animal hides, which have to be cut by hand in order to eliminate flaws that are too severe to tolerate. Faux leather measures like fabric, stacks like fabric, cuts like fabric and upholsters like fabric, or leather, depending on the type used.
Designer Celerie Kemble, who designs a line of faux leather for Valtekz with the look of such hides as pigskin, calfskin and snakeskin, particularly values the consistency of faux leather.
To showcase her latest furniture designs at Laneventure, Kemble has covered several of the showroom walls with faux leather. She pointed out that "when you're covering walls or large pieces of furniture, it's difficult to find consistency in dyed leather. You'd pay an extremely high price to find one that has no pimples and marks."
Color control
And while an antique leather with a century-old patina is a beautiful thing, Kemble said, in the real world the patina process can be ugly.
"With a new leather, the first spot or the first greasy head stain is not attractive. The patina process takes a long time. It happens in fits and starts, and it's not cute. With faux leather, it's nice knowing what you are going to get — and knowing that you'll get it all over."
Endless color options are another advantage. With animal hides, it can be a challenge to achieve clean pastel shades and pure white, for example, whereas faux leather can be any color imaginable and have any conceivable pattern.
In the upscale world of design, there is a major trend to using vivid, graphic patterns on walls, curtains and floors. Solid fabrics in light colors are often the ideal foil for those bold patterns. Faux leather fills the bill and can be used without hesitation in kitchens and dining rooms.
Above all, people want it.
"This is not your mother's vinyl sofa," said Bruce Hirschhaut, vice president of sales and marketing for Carter Furniture. "Faux leather is a product with a lot of applications for residential and contract upholstery. It's really a performance fabric for people with animals and children and commercial obligations. And in tropical markets, it's a phenomenal alternative to animal products because it's UV fade-resistant and easy to clean."
Carter did a lot of business in a PVC faux leather from Nassimi for the Super Bowl in January "when the moguls wanted colors like bright whites, aquamarine and fuchsia," Hirschhaut added. "This is furniture you can eat on because it is so easy to clean. Plus, faux leather tailors like a glove, which is important in contemporary because the tailoring has to be very fitted and hold its shape and profile."
The marriage of prized looks with performance properties is something to watch for this market.
At Laneventure, for example, several new frames feature a Valtekz faux leather in a shagreen pattern. Patti Frye, fabric merchandising manager, explains the advantages of faux: "Real shagreen is a very expensive, high-end product made from the hides of sharks and stingrays. It was pretty common to veneer it on boxes, sword handles, vases and various other accessories or furniture items. During the reign of Louis XV, it became popular for the French aristocracy to commission pieces covered in this prized skin, and during the 1930s Art Deco period, it became fashionable to cover items in shagreen."
Low maintenance
Today, thanks to new technology, producers can offer this chic faux skin to everyday consumers. It is a very durable product — family- and pet-friendly — because it won't wear out.
"And it's easy to clean by using mild, detergent-free soap, water and a microfiber cloth," Frye said, adding that the products "are also produced in an environmentally friendly manner."
"We're getting requests for faux leathers in special orders and in COMs as well — and that really tells you something," said Carter's Hirschhaut. "People are saying 'we want this look, give us this look' — and we want to give the customer what they want."
Knowing a product is "cruelty-free" is meaningful as well.
At Comfort Designs, which is showcasing Brisa at market this week, "We like that no animal was harmed in the production — and it also gives our sofas a sleek, sexy look," said Courtney Savage, marketing manager. "Because Brisa is breathable, it doesn't have to be vented like some vinyls do."
There are at least 60 colors of Brisa, and Savage said Comfort Designs is featuring three here this week — persimmon, heather and coffee bean. "The color line is really large and ranges from light colors to very contemporary all the way to dark beige and brown," she said.
Microfiber alternatives
Manufacturers like Universal, Schnadig and England have used microfiber fabrics as very realistic-looking leather alternatives as well, including Grange from Kaslen Textiles and Palomino and Stampede, two imported fabrics sold by Culp.
Stefanie England-Tull, vice president of marketing and store development for England, says of Culp's Palomino: "I don't know if I would call it a faux leather. It certainly has the look of leather. It encompasses the qualities of the microfibers, that story (of cleanability, durability) to go with it. It's basically an updated version of that type of fabric."
It also provides a cost advantage. "It would be the same as looking at a fabric," said England-Tull. "We're using it on several things — a lot in the motion category and we've introduced it on several of the stationary styles this market."
The look of the Grange faux leather fabric used at Schnadig is created in the finishing, according to Lorri Kelley, sales and marketing. "A chemical is applied to the microfiber fabric to give it the same great variation in texture and color as leather."
| Acknowledgements | ||
| Gary Evans also contributed to this report. | ||
