Ethics vs. Aesthetics: The Fur Issue

"In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and even clothes, the discussion of fur is childish" - Karl Lagerfeld 

Love it or loathe it, fur is back with a vengeance this season. From headbands and stoles, to full on fur coats, this is the quintessentially glamorous clothing to be seen in this winter. Fur conjures up images of 1950's movie stars, with siren red lipstick and diamonds. 

Anne St Marie, 1950's 

Karl Lagerfeld once said that wearing real fur was synonymous with using leather and eating meat. However, that is not strictly true. Indeed, animal welfare has improved enormously over the past few decades, with companies such as "Happy Eggs" ensuring that their chickens are free to roam around; and Anchor Butter, who use free range cows with the slogan, "if cows were meant to be kept indoors, they would be born wearing slippers". Horse meat scandal aside, the welfare of animals reared for human consumption is a world away from the frankly disgusting conditions of modern day fur farms where the skin is ripped off animals that are often still alive (take a look at www.peta.org.uk for a more in-depth analysis). 

Recently I've been exploring weekend markets and picking up vintage items from Portobello Road and Brick Lane. You will find rows and rows of fur coats, some real and some fake. Call me a hypocritical ex-vegetarian, but there is something about real fur that gives me the shivers when I touch it. Mink fur is absolutely beautiful but I cannot handle it. For me, there is an issue of both the ethics of real fur, but also the cost of it when compared to faux fur. It used to be the case that fake meant ugly, but things are starting to change. 

This season, Versace have released a 100% Raccoon fur coat for £3020. 

I feel that there are infinitely better options, both ethically and price-wise. Staying high end, I love this faux fur coat from Alice+Olivia by Stacey Bendet, originating from my second favourite city, New York. At £445 I feel that this would be a much better buy. 

However, a far more budget friendly version for people (myself included) who spend half their salary on rent, New Look have a similar version for £44.99. 

I'm a huge fan of Marc Jacobs, and both his own fashion brand and his work at Louis Vuitton have included some of my favourite pieces in the past few years. Whilst browsing Net-a-Porter, I began to lust over this antique rose coloured fur coat from the Marc Jacobs collection, at a staggering £8000. 

However, my heart sank as I read the description: 100% fox fur, lined with lambs leather, originating from Finland. Again, as much as it may seem hypocritical as I am not a vegan, I couldn't ever wear fox, or any other animal that was killed purely for the skin on its back. Obviously this is such a debatable issue that will not be ending any time soon, especially when in some cultures, fur is necessary for survival in the sub zero winter months. Nevertheless, £8000 is more than I would dream of spending on a coat, at least for the foreseeable future! 

This winter, I scoured the shops and found a gorgeous coat from New Look at £54.99. 

A beautiful, silky brown colour with a chevron pattern in the fur, it has actually been mistaken for being the real deal, which I profusely corrected. With red lipstick and an LBD, it leaves you feeling a million dollars (rather than, in reality, about 50 quid). Unfortunately it is completely out of stock online, but keep an eye out in stores or on eBay and you may be lucky! Or of course, pop down to a vintage market where there are bound to be hundreds of similar ones, albeit with the lingering smell of mothballs. Even Karl Lagerfeld himself has this season designed a faux fur coat at £390, a fraction of the price of Versace's offering. 

The way I see it, faux is the way to go. 

Yaasica Lucia xxx