They’ve got you covered
Millers making trendy fur coats
The fur coat industry has drastically changed since M. Miller began making and selling fur coats in Boston in the 1970s, and so has this South End apparel business.
It has transformed from a company predominately making the kind of long fur coats your grandmother might have worn to high fashion ski apparel worn by avid skiers with deep pockets all across the world at the most elite and swanky mountains. Think Aspen and the Alps. When the Miller family realized the massive business and opportunity for creating ski coats they then branched out into other ski apparel.
They saw the trend in athleisure, where women want to be able to go to the gym in a fashionable outfit that can transition into streetwear for the rest of the day. The same is true for skiers wanting to go from the slopes to apres-ski activities at some cozy mountainside lounge all around the world.
Allen and Davida Miller have been selling fur coats for 45 years — more than 50,000 coats in that time.
All of their coats are manufactured on Albany Street. It is unusual to have a factory like this remain given the high rents and explosion of condos in the area. They recall the days when the rent was only six dollars a foot. Allen Miller said, “We sure wish we bought the building back then because rent today has made it a challenge.”
This is truly a family operation. Their son, Mark, and his wife, Miyuki, have taken on most of the responsibilities of running this apparel business. The elder Millers are both in their mid and late 80s. Davida says, “I would like to retire but he won’t leave.”
Allen says, “I’m not ready to leave because my son still needs me. If I leave he’ll have to hire somebody else to take my place.”
But it seems that the reason is beyond financial and more about the family bond and closeness that they share in this multigenerational business, where all four of them contribute their different ideas of selling coats. Davida remembers the days when her grandchild would come to work daily as a baby and everyone at the factory helped to raise her. “It was so much fun!”
Mark’s wife is the head designer and tells me about the joy she feels skiing on the slopes and spotting one of her coats.
“It’s most rewarding when you see somebody that is a fantastic skier in our coats.” Mark adds, “Because we’re not just a pretty face but actually there’s technology involved in the creation of these coats.”