What's the most sustainable thing to do with a vintage fur coat?
Things I inherited this week and what other fashion experts say, because I need advice on this
One of the first things I ever bought on eBay was a preowned black teddy coat. Probably back in 2004, for about 8 euros and I can’t even find the email with the bidding and winning confirmation. I loved it and I wore it for ages, then suddenly sold it because I felt like it was too small. My perception of it and the meaning of oversized fits had changed. I miss it sometimes. I also owned a fuzzy white flokati jacket, very Kate Moss and I had the funniest conversations wearing it. I sold it when I moved houses and I think about it warmly (I’ve maybe missed it once or twice). I’ve had some serious faux fur rotations, I own a shearling jacket that I love and that keeps me warm, I wear leather. When I was about 27 I watched a documentary as part of the ZDF TV series 37 Grad on fur production and it was beyond heart wrenching (you can see a similar reportage here, from a few years later). I cried for a couple of hours, I sold my secondhand Woolrich jacket that I had previously stupidly invested in, I went from veggie to vegan and I felt sick for days.
That feeling has since eased. I never looked back at the Woolrich jacket, but I’m having fish again and some years I eat meat once or twice. All of this is me winding up to tell you, dear TIDBTW: last year my grandma left me a vintage fur coat.
One thing I hadn’t taken into account when starting the original low buying challenge last year and defining the rules was inheriting clothes. I’ve decided, maybe unsurprisingly, that they don’t count towards the all-year-goal, although they weigh the heaviest. If you romanticize the situation, they can be viewed as a very sustainable and a real generational effort to hold garments in the full loop. In their life circle, in our life time. But still, it’s a fur coat and and I don’t know how to keep it in a way that feels right.
Back when I was younger, we would occasionally open that closet where my mom kept my granny’s coat after she had given it to her decades ago. Maybe because she felt like it had gotten too big for her and already wanted to pass it on. How it came into her wardrobe, when she wore it and why, sadly I never asked. But then we would try it on, admiring it’s grotesque beauty, laughing at the thought of actually stepping out in it. Too huge, too ridiculous, too, in fact, fur. Impossible to waste, now that it existed, equally impossible to wear. We still kept it.
Recently, I’ve been feeling more nostalgic about my family, our belongings, clothes. My grandma passed away last fall after a very long life. Just in time before she could give it away, I called my mum to ask her to please save that fur coat for me. Originally I had planned to use it to upholster an old chair, to make some use of it, repurpose it. Keep it close. But then I felt like before taking it apart, I had to play out one more time, if I could see myself wearing it.
The hesitation? Apart from that documentary still present on the back of my mind,
made it clear in her article on once again:By now, we should all be crystal clear on why real fur is problematic, but let me spell it out once again: Animals are bred specifically for their pelts, kept in horrific conditions, and killed in unimaginably cruel ways—sometimes even skinned alive. Unlike cows, lambs, or calves, whose meat at least serves another purpose in the food industry (which, let’s be honest, is still worth questioning), these animals suffer and die purely for vanity.
Just reading this, who really wants to be associated with that aesthetic? So if I don’t wear it but somehow can’t let go, what should I do with it?
Back by popular demand?
I too feel and see that the fashion industry is very much moving in this zone again, despite banning fur from their runways. (Here’s last year’s VOGUE Business article observing exactly that)
You can obsess over the Olsens all you want, but then you also have to take into account and can’t get around that they are massive fur fans. Not that it is included in their collections, but in their personal style roster, which is obviously celebrated by millions and millions:
This is a vintage coat on
(as an interested follower on insta promptly inquired), so something that previously existed. And as always she looks flawless.
And then there is Reese Blutstein, also in dark fur, also vintage. And also confronted with someone else’s opinion in the comments, reflecting the heated emotions around this topic, about whether that coat matches her love for dogs.
So, looking at the stylist’s and the content creators’s ensembles and auras – do you feel inspired to buy a vintage fur coat too? And if so, is that bad?
Meanwhile Phoebe Philo’s Collection B is delivering this uber-soft “teddy” coat, implying faux fur, but actually being shaved shearling. I’m so confused:
You might also remember my trial to land on or rather in the brown Toteme faux fur coat back in 2017, an emotional almost-purchase relived in this article that holds other fuzzy faux things too. And I see a lot of that momentum revisited in the Toteme FW25/26 presentation in NYC just now! Opening the show with a faux fur look, but also as a repetitive motif throughout. The demand is already here.
And then as the final hit,
was wearing the belted Carven faux shearling coat of my dreams equally well at New York fashion week one of these days, meeting an impeccably stylish pony haired skirt shortly after:
So, is all of this incredibly chic or very ugly and why do I not know and why can’t I trust my own eyes? And even if faux fur would be better and cowhide comes with a different backstory and footprint and might even be considered sustainable as the whole animal is used – it still leaves me with my very big very furry very real coat in indecisive hands.
What the experts say
After feeling more and more conflicted, I reached out to the following four people, hoping they might have an opinion on this, from an industry level, emotional connection and just purely life experience.
I found myself at the Richert Beil Runway Show during Berlin Fashion Week at the end of January, waiting for the presentation to start when I heard a familiar voice right in front of me. I’m a loyal listener to Oliver MacConnell’s fashion column and so it took me only a few seconds to connect this live audio to his program Fehl und Tadel. Twice a month he discusses styling issues and fashion practice on Radio Eins. Whether it’s how to dress within office rules or at 38 degrees in summer, he will tell you exactly what he thinks works best. He was my man for this!!!
Two weeks later we met for a zoom call:
Oliver MacConnell, style critic, fashion designer and professor at Fashion Practice Academy Berlin
Things I didn’t buy this week: I inherited a fur coat from my grandmother after it had been dormant in my mother’s closet for around 40 years. Is it okay to wear it?
Oliver MacConnell: Before I answer that, may I ask why your mum never wore it? Because I can hear a tendency in your question already.
TIDBTW: You are right. Fur was never considered fashionable in my family. A fur coat wouldn’t be something my mum wears, both aesthetically and morally.
OMC: Yes, it might be a family thing and it’s different for everyone. In my family, my mother and my granny both wore fur. With an attitude, it’s a luxurious product. It is okay to wear used fur! You shouldn’t look like a rat in the street of course, it should be well-kept, it should suit you. It already exits, so wear it! Of course it depends where you wear it. For the streets of Berlin you need a strong skin. But in terms of sustainability, to use what you have, to repair and restore is the best thing to do. New fur is a very harsh way of trying to be fashionable and is unacceptable in my opinion.
TIDBTW: Speaking of new fur. By wearing my grandmas vintage fur – do I contribute to the demand of newly produced fur?
OMC: I would even say you should encourage others to wear vintage fur! I don’t think you motivate people to buy NEW fur. It’s more likely that you inspire others to recycle clothes, to rework something for you and your needs. Wearing old fur, that’s a very sustainable option. We are not thinking of St. Moritz – what’s happening there is very difficult. To wear fur in order to position yourself in a superior way is wrong.
TIDBTW: Do you feel like fur is back?
OMC: I don’t have the numbers and what people say and do is very different. There is a movement towards luxury and fur is considered luxurious. It’s not just quiet luxury, it’s also loud luxury. But the technical development of faux fur is very advanced and it can look identical. Let go of that “allowing” argument, whether it’s okay to wear something: with very good designers, you don’t have an external pressure for sustainable textiles, it’s their own desire. Whether it’s Miuccia Prada or Stella McCartney – who’s been on the forefront and banned leather – these people are truly visionary. Faux fur is trying the most obvious, which is finding materials other than fur.
TIDBTW: With these alternatives, how sustainable are they?
OMC: First of all the question is, an alternative to what? To warm clothing or looking fab and glam? Wearing a fur on the outside, it’s not so warm, it’s about the look. The purpose used to be: I’m rich and you are not. Fashion is still very exclusive, there are alternatives, and faux fur can be even more expensive. It is often polyester, polyacryl, no natural fibers. The danger about synthetic clothes is how you keep them clean and how you recycle them, how you use them and what happens after. Faux fur out of recycled materials would be the best.
During my apprenticeship and studies in Paris, I did an internship at Revillon, a very famous fur trader for exquisite real furs. I learned that in summer you have to put your fur in the fridge – otherwise it loses hair. So there would be this huge cold room where clients gave their furs to keep them fresh. In this room, Revillon also kept the most expensive coats, eg. all of Marlene Dietrich’s fur coats. If you touch a coat like that it feels light and amazing. I can understand people who are fascinated by fur. But that glam you can copy in a way with fake fur. Or you buy a secondhand vintage fur. Glam up your life, but a real one better be old!
TIDBTW: Is shearling better?
OMC: Shearling is considered a side product, as you don’t slaughter sheep for their fur. Therefore it is more broadly acceptable. If you have an old fur coat you will see that it is divided in strips. It is a lot of labour which also makes the price: 2-3000 small little strips go into a coat. It is a huge amount of labour and a lot of animal that go into a coat. Let’s take a mink, only a small portion of the fur is used. Which means a mink coat, that is 60-100 animals. The most horrible thing is the fur covering hoods and jackets, sourced often from China, where animal rights have a very different standard. Nobody needs that! But if you have an old one, the little fur collars that were worn the 50s & 60s – there is nothing wrong with that.
TIDBTW: So what do I do?
OMC: Wear it in order to use it, that’s what is has been made for. Wear it with respect. Is is just fashion, YOU should feel comfortable and enjoy the best memories you connect to it. Diane Vreeland had this column for Harper’s Bazaar in the 50s, called “Why don’t you?“. So why don’t you wear it as a bathrobe? If that doesn’t work, make a nice cushion.
It’s been freezing in Berlin lately (apart from a little spring stint), so the furs have been entering the streets again. Oliver MacConnell took our conversation further and will talk on the topic in his column Fehl und Tadel on Radio Eins at 11:10 am tomorrow. Tune in! (I will share the link after.)
The next person I felt drawn to with my concerns is writer Mira Wiesinger. After reading Marie Jaster’s newsletter on the resurface of (faux) fur, I followed Marie’s thought to Instagram where she too raised the question: Why is everyone obsessed with (faux) fur?! And whether we should celebrate that aesthetic.
Mira Wiesinger replied and her comment was simple: “Vintage fur is the answer. Fake fur = lots of micro plastic”. I actually loved that - finally someone with a strong opinion, unlike me. With my coat dilemma, I needed to talk to her:
Mira Wiesinger, journalist, book author and founder of @dailydiamonds
Things I didn’t buy this week: Do you have vintage fur in your wardrobe and are you comfortable wearing it? (Because from my experience, just because you have it, doesn't mean you automatically feel comfortable with it)
Mira Wiesinger: I have my grandmother's sealskin coat. My mother had it altered back in the 90s, as preferences for styles naturally change over the decades. I haven't worn it yet, but I will certainly wear it one day and then think of my mother and grandmother (and the beautiful animals that had to sacrifice their fur). I also have a short vintage mink jacket that I wore to my wedding. I had bought it battered second-hand once, both sleeves were torn off, so I had it repaired by a Kirschner. It was a good feeling to restore something as true luxury is what you can repair. That way I also had something “old” for my wedding, which is what tradition demands ;)
TIDBTW: In your opinion, by wearing vintage fur, is there a risk that we enhance the attraction of newly produced fur?
MW: I don't think so. Fortunately, it is now strictly regulated which furs can still be processed at all and it is no longer possible to buy a new sealskin coat. Neither can ocelots and many other types of fur. I think it's okay to process furs that are recycled from the meat industry. So many people eat rabbit meat, for example (not me!), so why not at least use everything from the animal if it had to die in the first place? The question is: how “cute” does an animal have to be for us not to want to wear its fur? In this context: (almost) nobody questions the origin of their new leather shoes, handbag or lambskin jacket. Are cows and sheep not worth being spared?
TIDBTW: Faux Fur is widely claimed to be the better option - how do you feel about that?
MW: I think fake fur is terrible. It looks and feels cheap, pollutes our environment with microplastics (in production and afterwards when you wash it), has to be produced first, which leaves a bigger CO2 footprint than if we just wear what's already there. In other words: Grandma's seal fur coat is much more sustainable than a new coat made of faux fur. In the end, fake fur is plastic. That's our real problem.
TIDBTW: In your opinion, what is the best to do with vintage fur that is already in your (family's) wardrobe if you don't want to wear it?
MW: If you don't want to wear fur, which I can understand, then you can donate these garments to animal shelters. There they are offered to animals who can lie on them or cuddle up because it obviously gives them a feeling of closeness to another animal. In this way, the furs take on a new meaning and the animals perhaps didn't die in vain. (Editor’s note: I really love this take on vintage fur, it’s something I actually never heard of or even thought about)
Before wrapping up this article and myself in said coat, I knew I also had to hear what Tanita Hecking thinks. I know few people who are as fluent in sustainability and its terms than Tanita and I can recommend her newsletter
to anyone remotely interested in what we are wearing and what it does to the world we live in. I asked her for advise:Tanita Hecking, journalist and author , detecting greenwashing narratives.
Things I didn’t buy this week: I inherited a vintage fur coat from my granny, in your opinion, is it okay to wear it?
Tanita Hecking: When my grandma passed away 10 years ago I faced the exact same question. She had two fur coats which were super old and still in very good condition. So I took them home to think about whether I’d wear them. I only ever owned one other fur piece before, which I bought secondhand but almost never wore because it didn’t sit right with me. It was the same with the fur coats of my grandma. They ended up hanging in my closet collecting dust for years. And I eventually sold them at a vintage market. I understand why people wear vintage fur coats – they are warm, last forever and you might as well use them if they have been produced. But for me personally, fur is neither reflecting my style nor the message I want my clothes to stand for.
TIDBTW: Wearing vintage fur, is there a risk that we enhance the attraction of newly produced fur?
TH: Yes, I definitely see a risk. We’re all so visually driven that we often respond to aesthetics without considering the context. When more people wear vintage fur, it can unintentionally glamorize the look and blur the lines between vintage and newly produced pieces. While there are certainly enough vintage fur coats available to meet any rising demand, fur becoming trendy again could fuel interest in new production. And considering how long it took to reach first animal rights milestones of some major luxury houses banning fur, it’s worth considering what role we play in reversing the progress. That said, this isn’t about passing judgment on anyone who chooses to wear vintage fur. From a sustainability perspective it makes sense to not let it go to waste. Because rewearing what you own and what has been produced in the past is a major aspect of sustainability. Personally, though, it’s not something you’ll find in my closet as the wider consequences that could come from reestablishing the look are important for me too.
TIDBTW: Faux Fur is widely claimed to be the better option - how do you feel about that?
TH: It really depends on what it’s made of and how often you wear it. While faux fur eliminates the ethical concerns of animal fur, most faux fur products are made from synthetic materials derived from petroleum. And they contribute heavily to pollution and climate change. If faux fur were made from biodegradable materials, it could be a better alternative. But I haven’t come across any. If you’ve come across any, let me know. I’d be super interested in learning more about it!
TIDBTW: In your opinion, what is the best / most sustainable thing to do with vintage fur that is already in your (family's) wardrobe if you don't want to wear it?
TH: I would check for donation options or sell at vintage markets. You can have a look at the map of A-Gain guide to find vintage stores and donation options and check with vintage stores whether they accept fur items.
While Tanita didn’t keep the fur coats of her grandma, she’s been treasuring this Norwegian cardigan of her grandpa for years and years: to her, sustainability on a consumer level means reducing how much we buy, rewearing and valuing what already exists.
Last but not least I messaged Ivana Perbi, whose whole dedication is on reusing clothes and finding the right pieces for her private customers. Someone who must have some feelings towards wearing vintage fur:
Ivana Perbi, founder & personal shopper at ROBE
Things I didn’t buy this week: Vintage fur or faux fur or non of it?
Ivana Perbi: I’d say wearing it really is the answer, as I think is the case with most of our clothes that end up as waste. The art series Fabulous Beasts by Simon Fujiwara was really inspiring to me, that’s an interesting way to rework vintage furs.
Honestly I don’t believe wearing something secondhand actually results in a higher production of that product, rather the opposite. With every piece that’s bought secondhand, that product is not purchased new, so it should decrease the demand. Lastly, yes I think it is okay to wear it!
If you want to read more on Ivana’s style, you find her TIDBTW Guest Interview here.
So what do I do?
So here I am with my vintage fur coat, not thrifted but treasured. Where do these anecdotes, personal observations and ideas leave me at? I still don’t know. Fur is a deeply emotional topic and so is this coat.
After our conversation Tanita sent me this post by the New York Times Fashion & Style, where
is raising the same questions. Fur is on my mind and fur is on full display:
I might need more time. More time to understand what I want to do with it. And maybe that’s okay.
My grandma was a very elegant person. She could be incredibly sturdy and surprisingly open, she would notice a good outfit in a flash and equally comment on a bad effort. And she kept her own good outfits going, even at 98. Nice pleated trousers, a good knitted sweater, fine jewelry. Never earrings. Often a brooch. Her gorgeous white hair in an androgynous short cut. And through all this time, I’ve not once seen her wearing her fur coat. Yet it’s the one piece I’m holding onto right now. Xoxo
Things I didn’t buy this week: 2
A circa 50 year old fur coat: previously owned by my granny
A faux (or is it shearling) feline by Phoebe Philo: 10.000,00 €
Such an interesting dilemma. Thank you for sharing your story.