Is fur making a comeback? Since the start of winter, celebrities with millions of subscribers on Instagram have appeared in hairy overcoats, real or fake: Kendall Jenner, wrapped up in a chocolate coat on vacation in Aspen, Kim Kardashian, hairy like a gray yeti in museum, Dua Lipa in a zebra toupee at a party… The aesthetics of mob wife (“mafioso’s wife” in French), characterized by very showy fur as an external sign of wealth, is all the rage on the Web: Google searches for “mob wives aesthetic” increased by 2,500% during the month of January, during which, on TikTok, the hashtag #mobwifeaesthetics exceeded 50 million views per week.
This renewed interest is surprising. Perceived as a symbol of cruelty towards animals, real fur has become very unpopular in public opinion − 9 out of 10 French people are opposed to its trade, according to an IFOP survey in partnership with the 30 Million Friends Foundation of 2021. At the French Fashion Institute (IFM), which trains the stylists of tomorrow, the director of the master fashion design Leyla Neri has observed, for several years, “a deep rejection from the students, who no longer want to work with real fur”. “We asked ourselves the question of removing real fur from our offer, due to receiving negative comments accusing us of legitimizing the aesthetic of fur”recognizes, for her part, Camille Gabbi, co-founder of Imparfaite, a second-hand fashion site.
Fashion brands, scalded by the spectacular actions of animal rights associations, had for the most part distanced themselves from real fur: Chanel gave it up in 2018, the Kering group (Gucci, Balenciaga, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and McQueen) in 2021, Dolce & Gabbana in 2022. Even Moncler and Canada Goose, whose fur collars were nevertheless an argument justifying the price of their luxury parka, ‘have abandoned. On the general public side, the vintage fashion platform Vinted has also banned it.
This disenchantment had serious consequences for the furriers. In Paris, two institutions reigned for a long time: Sprung Frères and Yves Salomon. Sprung announced, in January 2024, the cessation of its activity. The family business evokes a “absence of candidate to take up the torch in a not very positive context”. “The brand is very focused on fur, we don’t want to change jobs”summarizes Nathan Sprung, director of the company.
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