Saturday, August 27, 2011

Fur Coats for Winter Fashion

By Sarah Smith


Fur's made a big comeback for this season's Winter collections, and from the high streets to the catwalks everyone is getting in on the recent fur revival. It started with the designers, and now everyone wants ready-to-wear fur in time for the upcoming season.

Classic designs were given luxury make-overs when collars, cuffs and trims were adorned with a variety of furs, faux or real, in the autumn/winter collections. Colours were accentuated, contours were curvaceous and glamour came bouncing back to the catwalk.

The military trend made a big comeback, with the aviator jacket lifting the look up high into the sky courtesy of Burberry, who sparked the trend with a combination of fabrics and the iconic oversizes shearling collar. It wasn't long before Juicy Couture and Reiss followed suit. Lambswool has long been admired for its warmth and softness, and this season it has been embraced and used for a range of styles and cuts. Designers such as Vera Wang, Roberto Cavalli and Vivienne Westwood have used Mongolian lamb along with Tobetan, Kalgan and Toscana lamb for their creations.

Classic cut coats by designers such as Alberta Ferretti and Valentino put the shearling effect to good use, especially when paired with fur collar trims and shape enhancing lines. On the high street this trend has taken off too, thanks to Windsmoor, Planet, Wallis and French Connection.

Other fashion phoenixes of the military genre include the trench and pea coats seeing their re- incarnation in varied styles and furs. Youth-oriented labels have particularly taken to their re-birth with Andrew Gn and popular high street brands such as Miss Selfridge, adding a fur lining or finish to the collars with fashion giant Prada giving a new take on the theme too. The duffle coat has also been given a fur injection on trims and in hoods with items from Ralph Lauren's 'Tangleford', Debenhams 'Collection' range, Whistles 'Nancy' and a wide selection of patterns and colours from Dorothy Perkins.

Fashion powerhouse Fendi, known for their fabulous use of fur, have created incredible animal prints for use in full length coats, along with Phillip Lim and Betty Jackson. Copying the trend in faux fur, Oasis Biba and Warehouse have all jumped on board too, along with online giant ASOS. Vests, Giblets and coatdresses have been seen in many collections this season too, in a range of lambswool, mink, sable and fox. These have been shown on catwalks from designers such as Rick Owens, Anna Sui, Antonio Berardi, Valentino and Blugirl, and faux fur represented in the commercial realm by brands like CC and Lipsy, River Island, Vero Moda and Club L.

Whilst fox is still the top choice for coats and jackets, mink, broadtail and beaver remain ever popular for capelets, stoles and boleros - as seen in collections by Carolina Herrera, Andy & Debb and Christian Dior. Despite the fact that vintage chinchilla is still held in high regard, the use of fox instead means that the wearer can enjoy a much more lightweight garment even though it has the appearance of volume. The oversized, puffed high collars and big shoulders can be seen on the capes and coats available and cut the season's silhouette for fur fashion.




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