Stigmatized but sustainable: fur is making a comeback thanks to vintage

Laura Jacobs thought she would never wear animal fur. She had witnessed several demonstrations against its use in fashion. That changed when she started seeing him everywhere on the streets of New York.

She then pulled out the long mink coat that her grandmother had passed down to her years before. She took him to a furrier in Manhattan to give him a second life.

“I would never have bought a fur coat,” she tells AFP as she poses in front of a full-length mirror to assess a possible change. “But that’s how I feel like I’m recycling.”

In addition to particularly severe cold, the winter in New York was marked by lively debates. It was about the return of fur, which is now being promoted by some influencers.

Dealers like Larry Cowit, who runs Madison Avenue Furs, are seeing an increase in sales.

“I have 20-year-old customers who come straight from university and put on a fox jacket,” he says. “We haven’t seen that in a long time.”

Noelle Sciacca, head of fashion at high-end resale platform The RealReal, confirms that “interest in fur has increased significantly.” Searches for vintage pieces nearly tripled between 2024 and 2025.

The fact that the product is durable and offers resale opportunities “has led consumers to see it as something trendy and at the same time thoughtful,” she analyzes.

Biodegradable

Fur has been on the decline in the fashion industry for decades. This is mainly due to the fight of animal rights activists. Synthetic and cheaper alternatives have gained ground.

Numerous fashion houses have committed to no longer using real fur, including Prada, Michael Kors and Saint Laurent. The ban at New York Fashion Week will take effect in September. Demonstrations in Milan also recently called for a complete waiver. The European Commission is also examining a citizens’ initiative. This has collected millions of signatures for an EU-wide ban on fur farming.

Recently, however, the message has become more unclear. Concerns about fast fashion and petroleum-based materials have grown.

“I always imagine all the faux fur coats being produced melting into a puddle of plastic. The idea of ​​reuse and recycling can also include vintage fur,” pleaded Laird Borrelli-Persson, a journalist for the influential Vogue magazine.

Real fur coats require regular care. The skins contain natural oils. If they are not kept cool during warm seasons, they can dry out and decay. “It’s biodegradable,” emphasizes Larry Cowit.

Tortured animals

But for Ashley Byrne of the animal rights organization PETA, buying vintage fashion in the name of sustainability is “well-intentioned but ill-advised.”

People should “understand that wearing fur from a tortured and killed animal means endorsing practices that they certainly do not want to support,” she says.

At Larry Cowit, the ratio of vintage to new fur sales is now about 70 to 30. Used coats sell for between $500 and $10,000. A common mink coat sells for $1,500 to $1,800.

He attributes the rise of his business to social media influencers who have truly changed the game.

This dynamic is driven in part by the “Mob Wife” aesthetic. Combining statement jewelry, animal prints, and fur, this look has been trending on TikTok for several years.

The Madison Avenue Furs Instagram account features itself as Larry Cowit’s niece. She poses on the store’s balcony in coats reminiscent of ‘The Sopranos’.

At the store, Renee May, a stylist who helps customers modernize their grandmothers’ coats, confirmed to AFP: “Many of them are wearing their furs again.”

Nicole Bellmier, 36, appreciates this “very nostalgic” look. “This is something we can pass on to our children,” adds her cousin Dominique Defonte.