Fur sheds its staid image
With advanced techniques and modern designs, fur is no longer just for grandma’s closet
Afashion show on Oct 23 sought to revamp the image of fur with modern styles and covetable looks.
With the theme “Urban Chill”, the show featured modern designs and advanced processing techniques.
Jointly hosted by Saga Furs and the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology Innovation Park (BiftPark), the show featured the representative collections of eight of China’s most iconic fur brands — Brandon Sun made by HK Fur Factory Ltd, Felefasa, KC Fur, Lanca Joint Fur, Maryglenn, Osstina, Top Fabution33 and YLF.
Saga Furs is an international fur auction house headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, that was founded in 1938. Its name is a Nordic-Germanic word, meaning the endless story. It has built a reputation for tightly monitoring the production chain for fur materials, wide selection of high quality furs, and the design and development capability of Saga Fur Design Centre in Europe.
As early as 20 years ago, the auction house started working with the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology, opening a design project for fur trimming, giving professional lectures and sponsoring graduation projects to contribute to the promotion of Chinese fur design.
With a multinational designer team, Saga Furs is trying to connect with the younger generation through youthful fashion such as vests and baseball shirts, youthful colors such as pink and the use of materials such as lace.
The designers used the natural shading of fur to create stripe-effect pieces with depth. Silver and blue fox were alternated, fox jackets were constructed in waves so the under wool showed up in streaks of lighter color, or diagonal bands of plucked mink were placed on sheared mink.
Intarsia was used to create artistic animal prints and abstract patterns that highlighted the natural beauty of the various fur colors. Mink and fox fur were spliced with materials with contrasting texture, and the geometric patterns and letters created by fur made full use of their different textures.
Street style elements have been applied to the fur design. Matched with denim jackets and sweaters, normally high-end furs, such as fox and mink, had a more easygoing and casual look.
As sportswear has become increasingly popular fashion choice, the designers have not missed the chance to give it a fur twist. Coats with fur linings were designed for outdoor sports such as golf, providing comfort and warm, while allowing movement.
Popular dramas also provided inspiration. The US drama Game of
Thrones promoted the wide application of longhair fox fur. And Morandi colors, which are colors with low saturation in gray tones, have been popularized by one of the hottest Chinese dramas recently, Story of
Yanxi Palace. They were given a different interpretation with furs dyed in birch silver, sea bream purple, and rose gray.
Eight brands, different looks
Brandon Sun gathered designers from different countries including Italy and Korea. It showcased deconstruction as means to break the traditional look of fur clothing, focusing on strong contrasts and exaggerated shapes through the reorganization of elements. Luxurious raw materials created an avantgarde look influenced by the utilitarianism of street style. The coats made with different kinds furs, combined with reflective nylon ribbons, looked young and dynamic, with large metal textured jewelry emphasizing the punk rock genes of the brand.
Felefasa is a brand rooted in the philosophy of “nature”. It brought a collection of fur garments made of mink and decorated with fox and squirrel fur.
KC Fur combined the Millennial Generation fashion of the United States West Coast with fox skin and mink from Saga Furs. The strong contrast of colors, the rhythm of long and short hair, and the young silhouette of wide sleeves gave a contemporary feel to the collection.
The founder of the Italian brand Lanca has been active in the fur industry since the early 1970s. With more than 40 years of experience, he tries to express pure Italian fashion with his team. He introduced fur sportswear including jackets, baseball shirts in matching colors such as black, blue and green.
Maryglenn says elegance is a compulsory element in the philosophy of the brand, which features combinations of different colors and furs that strike a balance between their strong personalities and harmony.
With the various totem patterns, portraits and abstract graphics, including the image of the Mona Lisa, Osstina used simple silhouettes to set off its collisions of colors, dialogues between stripes and patterns, and contrasts of materials. The collection was aimed at modern urbanites.
Top fabution33 brought a collection dominated by black and gray, contrasted with dark pink. The overall shapes were simple, smooth and slender, but with deconstruction and asymmetry used to good effect.
Established in 1992, the last brand YLF is from Beijing. The brand targets urban men and women who enjoy a casual lifestyle. It chose to express the urban sprit by matching its fur designs with sports shoes and leather pants. The dyed furs formed groups of letters, used in conjunction with white otter fur to highlight the pursuit of new modern image fur. The bran’s use of denim, fur intarsia, and printing on fur also helped it break the traditional image of fur.
“In the past, people would associate fur clothing with their grandma’s closet. Many people have an image of longhair fur coat in black or brown in their head. Fur used to be divorced from the younger generation. There was not much choice when it came to fur style,” says Samantha Vesala, the Chief Business Officer of Saga Furs Asia. “But now is different. With advanced techniques and modern design, fur no longer looks outdated.”