Media Hot on Fur

FUR COMMISSION USA COMMENTARY, MARCH 29, 2004

Media Hot on Real Fur! "No Disclaimers. No Apologies"

They say that bad news sells newspapers, but good news can be downright welcome too! And since every fur fan prefers reading about a booming market than the latest headline-hogging stunt by those seeking to limit our food and fiber sources to plants and synthetics, the following press clips will surely bring you pleasure.

The media frenzy kicked off in February. The scene was New York, and the event was a week of fall 2004 fashion shows. The story told itself:

"There is no mistaking that fur is preferred for fall," said the Atlanta Journal-Constitution unequivocally.(1)

And Cox News Service was not about to argue, even over the wording. "Don't get your hair up, but it's clear that fur is preferred for fall," it reported.(2)

The Plain Dealer from Cleveland was a little more creative, but the message was the same: "Designer after designer this fashion week seems to have the idea that women next fall will be having a Jean Harlow moment: They'll be wearing slinky evening dresses with fur shrugs. ... Yes, Olympus Fashion Week so far is saturated with furs, at a level unseen in years."(3)

Also clearly reporting the same event was the Pioneer Press from St. Paul: "In a season that promised to be all about glamour and luxury, fur played a starring role. Fox and mink showed up in virtually every collection - on cuffs, collars, accessories and full-blown jackets, vests and even capes. [Designer and manufacturer] Carolina Herrera called fur 'a must have'."(4)

Now how many different ways can one say the same thing?

How about this from the Portsmouth Herald? "Notice anything different in the celeb rag mags lately? There's a lot more real fur being worn on the red carpet, in the swank clubs and on the catwalk. Real fur. No disclaimers. No apologies."(5)

Or this, from the Denver Post? "No matter that U.S. women tend to spend their days wearing no-nonsense pantsuits and sensible shoes. Designers showing in New York this week are dressing women who seem to be transported from luncheon dates to chic parties in limousines, judging from all the sleek tweed suits, beaded handbags, stiletto heels and fur in myriad forms gliding down the runways."(6)

And just one more, a lengthier effusion from Newsday:

"With New York in the grips of another frigid winter, the city's top designers obviously feel the time is right to go for fur in a big way.

"At the recent fall 2004 collections, the fur flew. 'It's in every single show, it's everywhere,' says Hal Rubenstein, fashion features director of In Style magazine. 'It's used with the same frequency that people use satin and wool.'

"'All I see is fur,' says Kate Betts, editor of Time's special style and design magazine. 'It's everywhere. It's luxurious and special, and that's what people will be trading up to next fall'."(7)

And so the coverage continued as Europe took over the mantle with its own fur-studded fall fashion shows.

Reporting from London, the International Herald Tribune talked of fur as "a mandatory component of any credible catwalk collection."(8)

But perhaps our favorite snippet came from Australia's Sydney Morning Herald, reporting on the Milan fashion season.

The Herald opened with the unequivocal statement: "The war against fur in fashion has been lost."(9) And how could it be so sure?

"What confirms the major shift of opinion is the audiences at the fashion shows this season," it continued. "In Milan, ... a fifth of the delegates at any given show would have been wearing real fur of some kind.

"Whether it was a new designer mink coat, a vintage swing jacket, a stole, or a trim on a collar, fur was there, acres of it. These audiences represent the leading fashion tastemakers. Where they lead, the masses are likely to follow, which makes it seem probable that real fur will again become a part of most women's wardrobes, as it was in the 1950s."

Notes:

(1) "Despite protests, fashion designers prefer fur for fall," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 11.
(2) "Fur flies," Cox News Service, Feb. 15, 2004.
(3) "The fur will be flying this fall if indications in New York are right," Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH), Feb. 13.
(4) "Fur gets royal treatment during New York shows," Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MI), Feb. 15, 2004.
(5) "Fee, fie, faux, fur," Portsmouth Herald (NH), Feb. 12, 2004.
(6) "The look of fall: fur, tweed, beads," Denver Post, Feb. 13.
(7) "Fur warms up winter," Newsday, Feb. 23, 2004.
(8) "In London, fur returns to its former glory days," International Herald Tribune, Feb. 26.
(9) "Love the skin you're in," Sydney Morning Herald, Mar. 6, 2004.

For further information contact: Teresa Platt, Executive Director, Fur Commission USA, PMB 506, 826 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118-2698 USA, (619) 575-0139, (619) 575-5578/fax, furfarmers@aol.com, www.furcommission.com.

To take a cyber-tour of a fur farm, visit Fur Commission USA's Fur on Film at http://www.furcommission.com/video/index.htm

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