The Return of Fur : Once Near Fashion Extinction, It Is Roaming Runways Again

By Jean Patteson

Finally, we're having a snap of fur-coat weather in Central Florida.

For the first time in years, the weather is cold enough and the political climate warm enough to make wearing fur a comfortable choice.

After almost a decade of being branded politically incorrect, fur is back in fashion.

When the top American and European designers showed their collections for the winter of 1998-99 early last year, many of them included fur, both real and faux. And many of the fashion editors and buyers attending the shows wore fur coats and wraps for the first time in years.

Some designers showed fur as a trim - around the necklines or hemlines of dresses, or on the collars and cuffs of sweaters and jackets. Others showed whole garments of fur - coats, jackets and wraps.

Within months, all the fashion magazines were showing fur - real and fake, in natural shades and dyed all the latest fashion colors.

By the start of last fall, these high-fashion looks had been copied, in less expensive versions, for the department and discount stores where most Americans shop. At present, a cardigan sweater with a faux-fur collar can be had for less than $50 at any number of stores around Orlando.

Prices for real fur are significantly higher. A mink jacket typically runs anywhere from $1,500 to $4,000. A full-length mink starts at about $6,000.

Savvy shoppers can sometimes find used furs at resale shops. Prices vary, but a previously worn fur in good condition may be marked down to just a third of its original price.

Mink is America's favorite fur, according to the Fur Information Council of America, followed by sable, fox and beaver. Shearling, which is lamb with the skin turned to the outside and the wool to the inside, is a fashion favorite this season.

The ebb and flow of fur's popularity over the last decade is illustrated by both the sales figures and the designer involvement recorded by the council.

Statistics showed fur sales in the United States increasing slowly but steadily from $1 billion in 1990 to $1.27 billion in 1997. A more dramatic jump is anticipated for 1998 and '99, when fur's newfound popularity really took off, said council spokeswoman Stephanie Kenyon.

In 1985, there were 42 major designers who showed fur in their winter collections, according to the council. By the early 1990s, however, the anti-fur protest movement was at its height. The wearing of fur had become a no-no. Women put their furs into storage, many models refused to wear fur on the runway or for magazine spreads, and most designers quit working with it.

But slowly the anti-fur tide turned. Last year, more than 200 designers showed fur on the runways of New York and Europe, according to the council.

"The anti-fur movement seems to have slowed down," said Kenyon. "Because of their harassing tactics, they have been part of their own demise. Our research shows that 92 percent of people disapprove of their tactics. They turned people off."

At the same time, there have been improvements in fur trapping and ranching practices, and this has disposed people more favorably toward fur, Kenyon said.

"Nobody wants to see animals hurt and tortured. But this doesn't mean we can't use them if they are humanely treated," she said.

Michael McGraw, a spokesman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals disputes these claims.

"There is a cult of fashion editors who are crowing about the return of fur. The fur industry has been claiming since 1994 that fur is back, but sales don't back it up. Sales are still nothing close to what they were in the 1980s," he said from PETA's offices in Norfolk, Va.

McGraw argues that inhumane treatment of fur animals is still widespread. Undercover investigations by PETA have found animals being kept in filthy cages, without veterinary care, and being killed in excruciating ways, he said.

"There is still no federal humane-slaughter law for animals on fur farms," McGraw said.

"We continue to have models volunteer their time and talents to do our ads. We're excited about the amount of support we continue to get from within the fashion industry. Our protests will continue," he said.

The Humane Society and the World Society for the Protection of Animals also have vowed to renew their efforts to fight the wearing of fur. But in Central Florida, stores that sell fur are fighting the area's generally mild climate, not the controversy surrounding the production and wearing of fur, said Art LaBellman, owner of LaBelle furs & Outerwear in Orlando.

This week's cold snap gave local fur sales a boost. "But it's really too little, too late. It should have happened a month ago," LaBellman said.

When Florida gets get a freeze in early December, Floridians are more inclined to buy fur, he said. They are flush with holiday spending money. They still have plans for holiday travel to colder places. And there's a real chance of at least a couple more cold snaps before the onset of warm - and early - spring weather.

Climate notwithstanding, interest in fur is on the upswing in Central Florida. Women in search of the real thing are flocking to the few upscale stores that carry fur, such as LaBelle, Jacobson's and Saks Fifth Avenue, and also to consignment shops, where second-hand furs often can be had for bargain prices. Those who prefer faux fur are finding it at department and discount stores, factory outlets and specialty boutiques.

"There's a renewed interest in fur. Our sales have really climbed this year," said Sharon Rutherford, owner of Rutherford's Resale in Casselberry.

"After all the publicity about animal-rights issues some years ago, people wouldn't touch fur. What with our warm climate and the animal-rights stuff, I thought the fur business was bankrupt. But that's changing."

"Fur is no longer taboo. People are coming in asking for furs. Some customers are buying more than one. That's a real indication that they're fashionable again," Rutherford said.

Interest is also strong at Cida's, a resale shop in Winter Park. "Everyone's asking about furs this winter. They're calling, they're coming into the shop. No one wants sweaters. I have lots of cashmere, but they want fur," said Cida Bennett, the store's owner.

"And price is no object. They want real fur, full-length fur, and they want quality. It's amazing what they'll pay for a used fur - $2,000 to $3,000," she said.

To meet the renewed demand for used furs, Bennett has contacted many of her clients who live in the Northeast or Midwest, but who spend their winters in Palm Beach. "I'm telling them, 'If you want to sell your furs, bring them with you to Florida. The time is right,"' she said.

Even if furs are back in fashion, why would Floridians want to spend their money on something they can only wear on those rare occasions when the mercury dips into the 30s?

"I love the feel. I love the look," said Fanny Spivey, a Winter Park resident who bought a blue fox fur at Rutherford's several years ago.

"I may only wear it once or twice a year here in Florida, but I travel a lot - that's when I need it," she said.

Maryellen Proctor, who recently bought a full-length, chocolate-brown mink at Cida's, also doubts she'll be wearing it much around her hometown of Deltona.

"I'll wear it when I travel. We're going skiing in Utah in February, and I know I'll need it there," she said.

She has owned fur coats in the past, but was never much bothered by the anti-fur protesters. "My minks were farmed, they were not an endangered species trapped in the wild. They were not killed in a horrible way," she said.

"I'm glad the tide's turning back in favor of fur."

Back to Fur / Animal Fibres / Home