The “must have” fabric of the moment is “faux suede”. It has made a huge impact to the upholstery industry over recent years and its popularity seems to be growing by the day. Its usefulness as a hard wearing versatile fabric is well documented and for use on footstools its flexibility in unsurpassed.
Created by Japanese textile technologists in the 1980s, faux suede was developed as a micro fibre to readily accept colouration. The fabric has useful performance applications in both clothing and the field of furnishings. The base of faux suede is polyester, a man made fibre extracted as a derivative from petroleum. Polyester can be blended with any other textile fibre however to maintain performance and
satisfactory texture a faux suede fabric should ideally be woven from 100% core polyester.
In its application for footstools potential customers are urged to resist cheaper alternatives particularly as footstool abrasion requirements are necessarily onerous and footstools are designed and built to last for many years.
As a fabric for footstools faux suede ticks all the boxes. With a brushed “napp” faux suedes exhibit a velvet appearance similar to the effect found on snooker or pool tables. The lustrous feel reflects light in the direction of the false pile, created during the fabric’s finishing process. The wide colouration of faux suedes is made easier by the receptive nature of the fabric to complex dyestuffs.
Polyester is most receptive to deep and rich colouration allowing the dyer to employ deep reds, bright pinks, oranges and various pastel shades that are more problematic to natural fibres. Contemporary shades for faux suedes tend to be centred around “earth tone” pallets whereby natural colours predominate. Reputable footstools manufacturers are well represented within these tonal areas having many colours to offer on their footstools range. The most popular shades include, coffee, ivory, chocolate, black and hazelnut. Among several new shades offered for the first time are red, muscat and white with another set of favourites from which stone, natural camel and beige are prominent.
The real versatility of a faux suede fabric when upholstered to a footstool is this very breadth of shade. Interior designers can go over board with the colour variations on offer and the footstool purchaser can really compliment his or her own surroundings by making an appropriate and relevant colour selection.
The author has over 20 years experience running companies involved in furnishing fabrics and furniture manufacturing in the UK and writes extensively about footstools and contemporary furniture.
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