Are You Ready for Some Fur Controversy?

While in the midst of Fall 2014 New York Fashion Week, it's impossible to ignore the lavish furs that make their way down the runways like it's nobody's business. From BCBG to Kenneth Cole New York, fur is everywhere this season, and frankly, are we really surprised? In temperatures like these, designers, editors, and bloggers alike always have fur on the brain and across their shoulders, around their neck, and occasionally, on their shoes as well. Despite the controversies that will forever invade the fashion industry regarding animal cruelty, fur doesn't seem to be going anywhere. Red paint or blue paint, painting your fur is right on trend anyway, so throw that paint and those designers will find a creative way to incorporate it into their collections. Like it or not, this is the reality that pervades this industry and will always be part of the Fall discussion. We can fight it or embrace it, but as far as Lagerfeld is concerned "in a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and even clothes, the discussion of fur is childish".

Last year, I wrote a satirical list on why one should wear fur. In honor of Fall Fashion Week, I'd like to re-present this list to remind us why fur is furtastic and the fashionable solution to the cringe-inducing parka.

1) Synthetic materials pollute our environment, including the waters. Animals drink from those waters. They get poisoned. We get poisoned. Enough said.

2) It’s timeless and durable. You can have one fur coat that will last you a lifetime. Just ask your grandmother. And if you’re really against it, you can wear vintage fur because that animal probably would have died a lifetime ago anyway. 

3) People eat cows. Some cultures honour cows. People domesticate dogs. Some cultures eat dogs. It’s all relative, really.

4) If you’re going to wear your Canada Goose and your leather boots, you can wear fur. Don’t be a hypocrite. We live in Canada. It’s cold.

5) The fur trade is part of Canada’s heritage and it is our duty to honour that heritage.

6) Women wear flowers in their hair. Children step on plants and pull them out of the ground for fun. People forget to water their grass. Lumberjacks cut down trees. What about cruelty to plants?

7) Would you rather support the children working in the factories to create your synthetic materials? I don’t think so.

8) People on farms raise animals for slaughter (Ever read Charlotte’s Web?). Is that really any better? Is Wilbur a friend or is he food? Think about that.

9) If the government wants to dispose themselves of the raccoon infestation, why not use the fur rather than merely killing them? We use our natural resources all the time for various purposes. 

10) Nature is beautiful. Fur is a part of nature. Let’s just be one with nature like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. 

Here are some of the best furs so far at New York Fashion Week:

KENNETH COLE NEW YORK

ADEAM

DIANE VON FURSTENBERG

DKNY

BCBG MAX AZRIA

If you're still a fur sceptic and think this is the most offensive piece of writing you've ever encountered, you should probably avoid fashion week altogether. Fur is a tradition and traditions like that don't disappear with a snap of our perfectly manicured fingers.

Happy Monday!

Bella

Image Sources: style.com