When I first started working in the print faux fur industry five years ago, I’ll admit I thought “luxury” was all about the texture of the fur itself—plush, dense, with a soft hand that made you want to bury your face in it. But over the years, as I’ve spoken with designers, product developers, and luxury brand buyers, I’ve learned that print faux fur’s luxury isn’t just in its feel—it’s in how every element works together: the print design, the quality of the base fabric, how the fur is finished, and even the little details that make it look intentional, not just a cheap imitation of the real thing. Print Faux Fur
As a print faux fur supplier, I’ve seen firsthand how so many companies miss the mark with their printed fabrics. They’ll take a low-cost faux fur base, slap a generic animal print on it, and call it a day, and it ends up looking flat, cheap, and quickly worn out. The good news is, we’ve tested countless techniques, collaborated with designers to refine their processes, and figured out exactly what makes print faux fur feel and look luxurious—without breaking the bank or sacrificing sustainability, which is a huge point for modern luxury brands and consumers alike.
Let’s start with the foundation: the base faux fur fabric. This is non-negotiable. You can have the most beautiful print in the world, but if the base is thin, has loose fibers, or feels scratchy, it will never look luxurious. I always tell my clients that a luxury print faux fur starts with a high-quality pile. Most budget faux furs use shorter pile fibers (10mm or less) to keep costs down, but for a luxurious look, we recommend 15mm to 25mm pile. That extra length gives the fur volume, so when you run your hand over it, it’s not flat—there’s subtle bounce, which mimics the way real fur looks and feels.
The fiber itself matters too. Polyester is standard for faux fur, but not all polyester is the same. We use solution-dyed polyester for our base fabrics, rather than pigment-dyed. Solution-dyeing means the color is added to the polymer chips before the fibers are extruded, so the color is evenly distributed throughout the fiber, not just on the surface. That prevents fading after washes or exposure to sunlight, which is a big issue with cheaper printed furs—they lose their vibrancy after a few uses, which instantly makes them look low-quality. We also use hollow-core polyester fibers, which are lighter, softer, and have more loft than solid-core fibers. The hollow core traps air, so the fur stays fluffy, and it’s also more insulating, which adds to that premium feel.
Next, the print design itself. This is where a lot of suppliers cut corners. Generic prints—like the same leopard pattern you see on every fast-fashion coat—look cheap because they lack depth. Luxury print faux fur is all about subtlety and realism. When we work with designers, we encourage them to move away from flat, pixelated patterns. Instead, we focus on creating multi-tonal prints that mimic the natural variations in real fur. For example, a luxury leopard print shouldn’t be just black spots on a tan background. It should have variations in color: some spots are darker, some have a lighter outline, some areas have a mottled effect where the base color shifts slightly. That creates a sense of depth, so when you look at the fabric, it doesn’t look like a digital image printed on paper—it looks like actual animal fur.
We also avoid too sharp of a contrast. A high-contrast print might look bold, but it can come off as artificial. Instead, we use a gradient approach, where colors blend softly into each other. We test prints on the actual fur base, not just on a digital mockup, because what looks good on a flat screen can look flat on a textured, furry surface. We’ll adjust the saturation and value of the colors to account for the pile—printing on a surface that’s not perfectly smooth means the ink can absorb differently, so we have to tweak the design to make sure the pattern is consistent and vibrant across the entire fabric.
Another key part of the print process is the ink itself. We use water-based, eco-friendly inks that are designed to bond with polyester fibers, rather than solvent-based inks, which are harsher and can leave the fur feeling stiff. Water-based inks are gentler, so they don’t coat the surface of the fibers—instead, they penetrate slightly, which means the print looks like it’s part of the fur, not just added on top. This also helps prevent the print from cracking or peeling over time, which is a common problem with cheap prints. We also use discharge printing for some designs, where we remove color from the base fabric to create the pattern, rather than adding ink. This creates a softer, more nuanced look, especially for subtle patterns like ombré or natural fades, because the color is part of the base, not a layer on top.
Once the print is applied, the finishing process is what elevates it from good to luxurious. This is the step that most suppliers skip, but it’s where we see the biggest difference. First, we do a “brushing and shearing” process after printing. When the fur is printed, the pile can get a little flattened in areas where the ink was applied. Brushing the fibers back up restores the loft, and shearing any uneven areas makes the pile uniform, so the pattern looks consistent across the entire fabric. For luxury products, we also offer a “sanding” step, where we gently sand the surface of the fur to remove any loose fibers, which prevents shedding. Cheap faux fur sheds like crazy, especially after the first wash, but our process reduces shedding by over 90%, which means the finished product looks cleaner and more high-end.
We also offer optional treatments to add even more luxury. A anti-static treatment helps the fur stay fluffy and prevents it from clinging to clothes, which is a pet peeve for a lot of consumers. A water-repellent treatment is great for outerwear, because it protects the print and the fur from spills or rain without making the fabric feel stiff. For some clients, we do a “crimping” process on the pile, which gives the fur a slightly wavy texture, closer to natural animal fur, rather than the straight, uniform pile of budget faux fur. This subtle change makes the fabric feel more unique and luxurious, because it’s not a generic straight pile.
One area that a lot of people overlook is pattern placement and repeat. If the pattern repeats every 12 inches, you’re going to see the same spot or stripe over and over again when you cut the fabric for a jacket or a blanket, which looks unnatural. We work with clients to create pattern repeats that are as large as possible—some of our luxury prints have a 36-inch repeat, so when you cut the fabric, you don’t see the same pattern in every panel. That makes the finished product look much more authentic, because real animal fur doesn’t have a small, tight pattern repeat. For custom luxury designs, we even offer one-of-a-kind prints that don’t have a repeat at all, using a digital printing process that lets us print unique, organic patterns without the need for a repeating tile.
Sustainability is another big part of luxury today, and consumers are willing to pay more for products that are eco-friendly. We’ve shifted a lot of our processes to reduce waste, which also adds to the luxury factor. For example, our digital printing process uses only the exact amount of ink needed, so there’s almost no ink waste, compared to traditional screen printing, which can have a lot of excess ink. We also use recycled polyester for 70% of our faux fur bases now, which meets OEKO-TEX and GRS standards. Luxury brands love this because it lets them market their products as sustainable, which is a huge selling point for high-end consumers. We’ve found that our sustainable print faux fur lines actually command a higher price point because of this, and customers can tell the difference in quality too.
I’ve had clients come to us who were used to buying their print faux fur from overseas suppliers, and after switching to our products, they’ve told me the difference is night and day. One designer told me that before, their leopard print faux fur coats would sell for $150 each, but after switching to our high-quality print faux fur, they were able to raise the price to $350, and sales went up because customers could feel the difference. Another brand that makes luxury home goods told me that our printed fur throws didn’t just look better—they lasted twice as long as the throws they were buying from another supplier, which reduced their return rate and increased customer loyalty.
Common mistakes that we see brands make include rushing the design process. They’ll pick a popular print from a Pinterest board, adjust it slightly, and send it to print, without testing how it looks on the actual fur. We always recommend doing a small sample first, before committing to a bulk order. Print on the base fabric you plan to use, then brush it, shear it, and feel it—don’t just rely on digital proofs. Another mistake is choosing the lowest possible price for the base fabric. A $2 per yard faux fur will never look as luxurious as a $6 per yard faux fur, even if the print is the same. The extra cost is worth it for the finished product’s quality and longevity.
We also offer custom services for brands that want a truly unique luxury print faux fur. Our in-house design team works with clients to develop original prints, whether it’s a custom animal pattern, a abstract design, or a textured effect that mimics things like fur with frost or subtle color shifts. We use high-resolution scanning to capture real fur textures, so we can create prints that are incredibly realistic. For example, a brand that makes luxury outerwear might want a fox print that looks exactly like arctic fox fur, and we can scan a real fox pelt, extract the texture and color variations, and print it onto our faux fur base. That’s a level of realism that you just can’t get from a generic print.
At the end of the day, luxury print faux fur isn’t about over-the-top glitz or expensive materials—it’s about attention to detail. It’s about a soft, dense base, a realistic, multi-tonal print that blends with the fur, and a finishing process that makes it look and feel like a high-quality product, not an imitation. As a print faux fur supplier, we’ve spent years refining every step of the process to meet the demands of luxury brands and consumers, and we’re always testing new techniques to make our products even better.
If you’re a designer, product developer, or brand owner looking to elevate your products with high-quality, luxurious print faux fur, we’re here to help. We can walk you through choosing the right base fabric, developing a custom print, and applying the finishing touches that will make your products stand out. Whether you need a small sample run for a new collection or bulk fabric for a full production, we have the expertise and the processes to deliver print faux fur that looks and feels truly luxurious. Don’t settle for generic, cheap-looking print faux fur that will fade or shed after a few uses—let’s create something that your customers will love and come back to for years. Reach out to our team to discuss your project and get started.
Blanket Fabric References
- International Trade Administration. (2022). Global Fashion Industry Trends: Luxury Textiles and Sustainability.
- Textile Institute. (2021). The Science of Faux Fur: Quality Standards and Performance Metrics.
- Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. (2020). Consumer Perceptions of Luxury Textiles: The Role of Texture and Print.
- OEKO-TEX Association. (2023). Sustainable Printing Processes for Textiles: Water-Based vs. Solvent-Based Inks.
- Fiber Source International. (2022). Hollow-Core Polyester: Benefits for Textile and Apparel Applications.
Ruili Textile Co., Ltd.
Ruili Textile Co., Ltd. is one of the leading print faux fur manufacturers and suppliers in China, featured by fashion products and good service. Please rest assured to buy high-quality print faux fur at low price from our factory. Welcome to view our website for more information.
Address: 1#, Tianhe Gongguan, Chenghang Town, Zhangjiagang City, Jiangsu Prov. China Mainland
E-mail: benny3.ruili@jsmhint.com
WebSite: https://www.ruili-textile.com/
