How vintage fur starting trending in 2024
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While arguments around whether vintage fur is more sustainable and ethical than buying fur today remain, the International Fur Federation (IFF), which represents all facets of its supply chain, recently unveiled a new labelling system called FurCycle that identities vintage and pre-owned fur.Furs aged 20 years and above will be classified as vintage, and those made at least three years ago as pre-owned. The IFF said of the new system, launched in November, that it represents a “a meticulous inspection process by a certified professional furrier, ensuring it meets the highest standards of quality and authenticity”. It follows FurMark, launched one year earlier, a global certification and traceability system for natural fur.
Johnny Valencia, owner of the Los Angeles-based celebrity go-to vintage store Pechuga Vintage, says not all vintage fur is created (or maintained) equally, or worth the investment.
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“Definitely quality. Never purchase pieces that are falling apart,” he says. “Fur is very difficult to repair because it’s panelled and unless you have someone that knows how to work the construction of a garment or has handled fur then I say it’s best to skip on the piece altogether. Look also for any missing patches of hair on your fur: this will indicate that the skin has dried out from severe sun exposure or improper storage.”
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In the early days of Pechuga Vintage, Valencia consigned a fur coat from the 1930s from a client who’d worked with Alexander McQueen, sparking an interest in researching Schiaparelli fur from the same era. He says his clients tend to buy “iconic” fur chubbies from Gucci and oversized coats from Yves Saint Laurent.“I’ve always been a proponent of vintage for sustainability and style reasons and fur fits into that ethos, plus it’s very warm,” she says. “Of course, there’s a lot of debate around the ethics of fur, but vintage pieces objectively break down quickly [once they are discarded], whereas most faux furs are made of plastic or petrochemicals. There have been some advancements in faux, but the majority of the pieces that are being purchased now do not utilise those. And plastics don’t break down.”
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Pieri, who lists Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Sofia Coppola as her muses for wearing vintage fur, says the material is also something that you buy once and never throw away.“I actually haven’t purchased a vintage fur in a few years, but I keep them forever. The two that I wear are easily eight to 10 years old, but with that said, I love the idea of the International Fur Federation’s new FurCycle programme that ensures you’re buying vintage fur ethically,” she says.
