Thursday 5 August 2010

Fur: Friend or foe?

Chanel aw10 (no real fur was used for this collection)

Today I read a piece from ELLE Collections magazine; a debate discussing fur.

After reading said article I had the most amazing soak in the bath and whilst drifting in and out of heaven I thought about my opinions on fur....

We live in a world where opinions are greatly mixed regarding fur. And while personally I do not choose to wear fur there are instances which some people deem to be more suitable. Holly Fulton stated that she used fur, 'not lightly' for her AW10 collection, but she chose to use fur, suede and leather that was guaranteed as a by-product of the meat industry. This approach generates a use for materials which would otherwise be wasted. The re-use and recycle nature of our society emphasises the advantage of Fultons approach as against the breeding and killing of animals purely for our own vanity.

In the article, the designer Todd Lynn, asks, '...if you believe fur is wrong, why perpetuate the image by wearing a fake version?': While I take this thought into consideration, there are many cheaper alternatives to real fur which don't involve the inhumane treatment of animals but still look phenomenal. While fur is appealing to look at, is intensly insulating and oozes class, is there a need for it when there are almost identical alternatives available?

What do you guys think about fur? Are we ever going to live in a time where fur isn't used at all? Do you wear fur? Are you against fur all together or do you have mixed feelings?

1 comment:

Marian said...

quite an interesting post. I had not read Todd Lynn's view on perpertuating the image by wearing a fake version.

Food for thought.

Thank you.
marian xx