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New York, NY -- For several years now, furriers have been making proclamations about fur being the epitome of fashion, the pinnacle of style. Such defensive posturing appeared to be so much hot air... until last week. Fur's fashion quotient shot skyward when nearly every major North American fashion journalist -- including some who haven't covered fur in a while -- came together with top fur retailers to view hot new designer collections that had more to do with style than an outdated sense of luxury. And, in the case of a couple of shows, when those elements came together with supermodel catwalkers, the energy shot through the roof.
As the second annual group presentation, Fur Fashion Week capitalized on its successful inception last year as a showcase for fresh, energetic design talent, and took it even further. Many design houses that participated last year seemed to have learned from the experience and pushed themselves to be more creative. Most realized that the predictable hum-drum of even the most beautiful sable pelts and exquisite workmanship don't fly with editors if they're interpreted in yet more knee-length swing coats.
All of the collections improved this year. Hard work was evident on the runway. Guests agreed that it seemed fur designers are aware that they must think more in terms of fashion than commodity when preparing their offerings. Manufacturers even cleaned up little production glitches, like too-long breaks between show segments and shows that were just plain too long.
Trends were as pointed as precision tools, with '70s candy colors (especially baby blue), clean, spare shapes, military detailing, cyber vision, sportswear functionality and retro glamour making clear statements, though vastly diverse ones.
Two basic directions emerged, and some shows embraced both roads. Byron Lars, Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs were trailblazers for the young, fashion-forward consumer. Lars and Jacobs not just skimmed the body but cinched it. Lars continued his signature hourglass silhouettes in his second collection for Mohl. Kors combined a young sensibility with practicality in pared-down separates and outerwear, and Jacobs was the most trendy, in a Gucci mindset.
"I like the idea of using fur like cloth," said Jacobs. I like it close to the body and simple, with out jeweled buttons or fussy details. For me it's about not treating fur as precious, because that's when it gets old-fashioned."
Young sportswear energy infused presentations by D'Arcy Moses, skiwear by Andre & Lisa Bisang, Natural's nfi collection, Zuki and Paula Lishman.
Other designers chose a romantic, classic approach -- some even beckoning a different era. Saga's showcase of stoles sought a return to movie-star glamour. Always an individualist, Zandra Rhodes's ruffles were pretty and feminine, as were soft shearlings from Denimaxx. Jerry Sorbara for Neiman Marcus, Louis Feraud and Yves Saint Laurent were simple, European and sometimes formal.
"I think balance is the keyword this year," said Terry Thornton, buyer for Neiman Marcus. "Last year the industry took a big step moving forward toward the avant garde, and that shock was needed. But now we've also returned to elegance, bringing back a very refined sense of style. My store appeals to both types of clients."
Hopefully this sense of balance will be maintained. Not many retailers feel they can sell the type of merchandise that editors consider valid fashion. The three most directional collections -- Marc Jacobs for Maximilian at Bloomingdale's, Michael Kors and Byron Lars -- left some of even the savviest buyers looking a bit dazed. "Interesting," was the word on their lips, as they muttered about a customer base that is "limited."
This presents the industry with a unique marketing challenge at a time when it is in the midst of a renaissance. Since the renewed popularity of fur can be partly attributed to the fashion factor (more designers, new ideas and editorial support), avant garde offerings should always be available. Fashions like Kors' austere sportswear, Lars' sexy silhouetting and Jacobs' shrunken rebels are what most cross the border between fur-as-luxury and simply great fashion that could hold its own on the world's runways. Yet these can't be token charity collections, manufactured strictly for image. There is a lot of talk about "potential" fur customers who are younger, but those customers must have greater access to these styles, or they will never been enticed into the market. Now that we have young merchandise, we must reach out and grab younger demographics. Otherwise, this great fashion might slip away like a failed experiment.
Influencing the perception of fur fashions at two shows were more than the furs, though. Veronica Webb, Irina Pantaeva, Patricia Velasquez and Ivana weren't just window dressing. These supermodels garnered respect. They showed the world that the fur industry isn't a poor relation to ready-to-wear. More importantly, they helped make jaded and bored mainstream fashion journalists take fur seriously as part of the overall fashion scene.
The New York Times, which had criticized last year's Fur Fashion Week for its use of untrendy models, grudgingly admitted last week -- as a result of the supermodel participation -- that, "The fur comeback that has been delicately sprouting in the last year, with small sales gains and renewed designer interest in furs, seems now to be gaining momentum."
And Webb & co. created a stir. While it's impossible to say if they drew more members of the press to Zuki's and Maximilian's shows, these shows were the most packed with journalists and photographers, who seemed thrilled with the turn of events.
It couldn't have happened at a more opportune time, too, with protesters outside. Several tv crews who came to cover the mild mŽlŽ on the sidewalk in front of Parson's then came inside to see the shows and ask the supermodels how they felt about wearing fur.
Each company showing during Fur Fashion Week was responsible for hiring their own models this year. Last year the Fur Information Council of America (FICA), which produces the three-day event, hired a group of models to work all of the shows. So those companies that brought on the supermodels had to shell out extra bucks. But, as Betty Balaila of Zuki Furs, Montreal, put it, "I saved my allowances for almost an entire year, but it was worth it." Her husband, Zuki, the designer, added, "From day one I said, if I'm doing a show in New York, I'm going to go all the way. Coming from Canada, it is much more expensive for me to do this show than other [New York-based] companies, with all the money spent on shipping and everything else. So if I'm going to spend another 10, 15, 20 thousand dollars for supermodels, it's worth it."
No kidding.
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