A fur coat is one thing. Everyone from Cam’ron to Princess Diana has worn one of those. But fashion’s current obsession with fur goes far beyond the opulent outerwear of yesteryear.
In the wake of TikTok’s mob wives ransacking vintage stores for grandma’s chinchilla coats, anything and everything is suddenly sprouting fur like a Chia Pet gone rogue. Formal loafers are growing big bushy tails, hairy hats are absurdly oversized, Rosalia’s walking around in a Celine fur dress that looks like a huge pom pom: Fashion has gotten real hairy.
As if the fashion industry has taken a page from Méret Oppenheim's famous fur-lined teacup, all manner of ordinarily unfuzzy objects are now fully fuzzed-up.
Fashion has been growing out its roots for a few seasons, to be fair. Big, fluffy coats quietly accumulated on runways like so many squirrels hibernating for winter. Fur, both real and faux, became one of 2024’s most enduring trends, evinced by high-pile outfits pioneered by Chloë Sevigny and Rihanna. High-texture cow patterns began moo-ving out to pasture this past winter.
And then came the Fall/Winter 2025 Milan fashion Week shows, a small slice of future fashion. The fashion data platform Tagwalk reported a 996% increase in shearling and fur at those shows alone, epitomized by huge Etro trapper hats that dwarfed wearer's heads, uber-long Fendi scarves that looked very roadkill chic, and one MSGM outfit entirely made from reddish pelts, from baseball cap down to the slippers.
Speaking of footwear, though luxury fashion and sneaker makers may not be sharing notes, it sure seems like they are.
Nike sneakers, having already gone panda, are looking very literal; adidas is turning out stablefuls of pony hair low-tops; Vans, not content to go merely tangle with suede, is letting its hair down over weirdo skate loafers; The monstrous hairy outer of Balenciaga's latest Crocs collaboration entirely shrouds the foam; even Saucony is dabbling with furry cow runners. The Chewbacca-fication of shoes is very real.
All these hairy happenings brush up against the uneasy reputation that's grown on fur over the past few decades.
The majority of luxury houses have policies against skinning animals for fashion, the results of long-fought battles with anti-fur activists.
“We do it out of conviction, for the sake of ethics and modernity,” François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO of Kering, said when the fashion conglomerate pledged to go fur-free in 2021. Fur was banned from London Fashion Week this past season and in some American states, it’s become illegal to sell fur.
This is circumvented by many of the aforementioned fur-covered fashions because they don't use the real stuff. Faux fur is just as ubiquitous as actual pelts, if not more so.
Whatever ethical points they score, though, faux fur goods come with a cost. Replicating the real deal with non-biodegradable faux fur, often made from acrylic, polyester, and modacrylic, poses many well-reported environmental concerns.
A large reason why the vintage fur market is booming is because it allows shoppers to at least partially circumvent guilt. The the logic being that, if fur isn't purchased from the source, then it doesn’t support the dark side of the trade. But fashion’s current patch of hairy projects are only likely to be partially vintage or upcycled, at best.
But when have morals, for the sake of animals or the environment, slowed fashion's roll? Much like growing out a proper mane, fashion is going to see the refurgence through.
