Some1,500 guests enjoyed the theme, "The Golden Years of Hollywood," which inspired designers to create furs with movie stars and even specific movies in mind. For Hong Kong Fur Factory, designer Flora Cheong-Leen took her cues from Audrey Hepburn for elegant, sleek styles. Ocean Fur Co. Ltd. chose Twiggy for its muse with a young, colorful collection in sheared mink. Regal Fur & Fashion Co. Ltd. recreated scenes from the 1961 movie, "Blue Hawaii," with palm trees, orange and yellow sunsets and leaping dolphins set in sheared mink.

The fashion show gala was the centerpiece of the 2001 Hong Kong International Fur & Fashion Fair, the fur industry's most prestigious annual event in the Asia-Pacific region producing orders for fur garments worth HK$1,392,259,800. The four-day fair attracted 2,500 fur retailers, 17 percent more than last year. As usual, the attendance was international with buyers from traditional markets such as Japan, Korea, the United States and Europe, as well as newer markets like China and Russia.

This trade fair is usually a litmus test to see which international markets have been the most successful the previous season. This year saw an increase in visitors from China, Korea, Japan, Russia and the U.S. There was a decline in the number of buyers from Europe, which was attributed to a change in the way fur is marketed there. No longer sold by traditional fur companies, fur has been taken over by fashion houses there that manufacture their furs themselves and market them through their own stores.

Hong Kong fur manufacturers presented a selection of garments representing a more fashion-conscious attitude this year, recognizing that fashion is increasingly important to their customers. Timothy Everest, vice chairman of the Hong Kong Fur Federation, which produces the fair, said, "The influence of fashion is very much more prevalent than last year. As for specific trends, knitted furs are very well entrenched here, both for garments and accessories. This appeals to a younger group of consumers as well as more mature customers. Hong Kong is in an excellent position for knitted furs, which involve labor-intensive production.

"The diversity of furs in demand is even greater than last year," Everest continued. "People are now demanding a great variety of different textures and feels. Of course, mink is still the main item, but people are also asking for more obscure items. We have seen a huge demand this year for Chinese raccoon --natural, bleached and dyed -- plus sable and chinchilla. Everyone has more or less sold out of chinchilla. Foxes have come back into their own for trimming, and there is tremendous business in Chinese weasel, kolinsky, squirrel and rabbit. Beaver is an item that has long been neglected, but which is really picking up. Seal, too, is enjoying a comeback with demand principally from Turkey for the Russian market."

Hong Kong/China is the world's leading source of fur garments and the U.S. market's primary source for imports.