Leather Types

There is a misconception that full grain leather is better than top grain leather. The truth is much more nuanced and sometimes confusing, especially when fit for purpose is considered. Each leather collection is designed with specific characteristics and goals. Finding the best leather for each situation can and should be fun! Cortina's expert sales and customer service teams are here to help: Find a Rep.

Technically, full grain leather is top grain leather, as it is made from the top or outside layer of the hide (suede is made from the bottom or inside layer, the "split," after the hide is split into two layers). Here are general points on how Cortina Leathers classifies the raw materials used to create our finished leathers:

Top Grain (often called corrected grain leather):

• The topmost layers (epidermis) of the hide are buffed or sanded off to remove most or all of the natural markings. Because the markings are removed, the hides can be any grade, one of many contributing factors to the cost variation between leather lines.
• A corrected grain is added back to the hide by embossing with extreme heat. The embossings can be highly natural, making it difficult, even for experts, to know if the leather has been "corrected" once it's on furniture!
• The grain options are nearly endless: light and variable (like Caprone), deep and plump (like Cuyahoga), a decorative pattern (like Traverso), and more.
• After the sanding or buffing, the hide accepts dyes, pigments, and finishes consistently, which is preferred by most large furniture manufacturers. When you buy "genuine leather" furniture with consistent color and grain from big box stores, furniture chains, or large furniture manufacturers, you are most likely buying a medium to lower-grade, corrected, top-grain, semi-aniline or pigmented leather. But, it's still leather! And genuine leather made by expert manufacturers, such as Cortina Leathers, including corrected grain leather, is still the longest-lasting, most durable, and most beautiful and luxurious textile humans have ever produced! (We may have a slight bias on luxury—but not on durability—go ahead and try to name another textile that can last under repeated use for 50+ years, and get more beautiful as it ages!)
• Two main advantages: grain and color consistency across the hide and from hide to hide for higher yields, which is helpful when specifying for a 200-seat luxury event space, or furniture with large panels, like untufted banquettes, deep sofa cushions, or headboards.
• Because top-grain crust starts out like a blank canvas, the finished leather can be designed with a wide range of characteristics, including being made extremely consistent, durable, and cleanable—characteristics designers and buyers often ask us for.

Full Grain (sometimes called uncorrected grain leather):

• Full grain leather is buffed only very slightly to leave the top layers intact, usually with the intent to purposely showcase all the unique and natural markings inherent in leather, like stretch marks, bug bites, scars, brands, and grain variability. Each hide is unique! People who know and love fine leather believe these markings are a significant sign of luxury because they understand that making quality, natural, genuine leather is a highly labor-intensive and technical art form.
• Full grain leather is generally made from the cleanest and highest grade crusts and can be more expensive, but not always! Cortina's Bellina is a stunning heavyweight, full grain, uncorrected, designer leather offered at a very reasonable price.
• Sometimes the surface is buffed slightly more to allow for better adhesion of protective finishes, dyes, and pigments to customize the look, feel, and cleanability, but this process doesn't actively try to remove the natural markings since these are what give the leather character and a touch of added durability.
• Sometimes the leather is embossed with a corrected grain pattern to add texture or increase yield, but the natural markings remain along with the embossed grain. This is where it gets confusing because some people call full-grain leather "uncorrected" grain leather, yet the leather may actually be corrected on some level.
• The cost of upholstering with uncorrected full-grain anilines and pure anilines can be more expensive. Just like patterned fabric, the variable grain, color, and natural markings should be artfully placed on the different elements of the furniture, which takes skill and time, and also can decrease yield. But it certainly doesn't have to be! Here at Cortina, we go ga-ga when we see a chair with beautiful full-grain leather that has huge stretchmarks showcased on the seatback!
• Because full-grain leather keeps more of the outer, tougher fiber intact, it is often considered slightly more durable, although not always—crust thickness, grade, and process contribute too. This durability makes full grain leather desirable in high-traffic spaces in hotels, restaurants, and bars, and it is essential in highly repetitive-usage seating such as office chairs, airplanes, and automobiles. In addition, under the right conditions, high-quality, full grain leather purchased from a responsible upholstery manufacturer such as Cortina Leathers can last for several generations which is a great investment for heirloom furniture meant to be passed down. So don’t be shy! Add full-grain leather to any design to increase the luxe and longevity quotients. Click here to see Cortina's full grain Collina in all her glory.

Shown stacked here is Cortina's Brandenburg, a full grain semi-aniline made on the highest-quality, cleanest German bull hides, offered in over 40 colors, with a consistent grain and color. Click here to explore Brandenburg.