Paris fashion shows: fur celebrates his big comeback

With your hand you reach into the thick fur of a jacket that shines as light brown and creamy like caramel. At first glance, it could be precious nerz, but you rub over the individual grues, feel dry and brittle. The Valentino employee in the showroom reacts similarly when you inquire about the origin of the fur: “Real fur or fake fur?” She blew, as if you had asked an insolent question. “This is Shearling!”

With the fashion week in Paris, the watch marathon lasting several weeks has come to an end, and although every season appears tons of new trends, only one stands out in autumn: fur.

Whether in Milan or in Paris – there were thick fur coats and accessories everywhere on the catwalk that predict. Seems as if there were hairy times ahead of us. While brands like Fendi, who celebrated their 100th birthday in February, continue to process mink and mink, other labels with fake fur or like Valentino with shearling experiment. This means edited lamb or sheepskin, which comes from farm animals and is sometimes also processed with artificial fibers. It often looks deceptively real. Shearling is the fur for a good conscience, because animals are not necessarily bred and killed for the fur.

Nevertheless, it is a strange picture in these spring days when the first trendsetters run through the streets in thick grizzly coats, regardless of whether the skins are real or wrong. With their appearance, they suggest that wearing animal skins are politically correct again. Wasn’t the fashion world one step further? After all, almost all fashion brands and large corporations have announced that they want to do without fur. Many countries imposed breeding bans, and Norway recently joined. The US state of California even goes one step further and forbids the production and sale of fashion from Nerz, Mink and Co. So the feeling spread that fur was almost exterminated in the fashion world and even wearing fake for a politically incorrect sign.

But there is nothing more to be felt.

“Buying real fur would never be possible for me,” said German actress Hannah Herzsprung (“Four minutes”, “Babylon Berlin”), who visited Chanel’s show on the last day of the Paris. In fact, the label was one of the few that did not organize a fur spectacle. The show was particularly special, because with it the Lagerfeld era finally came to an end. The German designer worked for Chanel for over 35 years, and after his death in 2019, his former right hand Virginie VIARD took over the creative management for another five years. But now a new designer is moving up. In autumn, the Belgian Matthieu Blazy will present his first collection for Chanel – and turn everything upside down.

The last show according to the old tradition was therefore designed by the design team, which did not present a groundbreaking collection, but still achieved a solid transition. “Today everything was shown again that Chanel is,” said Hannah Herzsprung after the show. There was therefore a lot of tweed on the catwalk that was decorated with fine tulle, lush pearls, thick rope, as well as clothes in beige as well as in the typical contrast colors black and white. There were also many loops and strips of fabric that sometimes bobbed on sweaters, sometimes to dozens of skirts. A large black band adorned the backdrop in the Grand Palais, which for some seemed like a galwort accessory to say goodbye.

The show was also an emotional moment for Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline von Monaco. “Chanel has been present for me since childhood, my mother was very close to Karl Lagerfeld,” said the 38-year-old. “It is best to remember the jewelry because she had big boxes with ‘Fantasy Jewelery’, as we called pieces with fake stones. I was allowed to play as a child.”

Casiraghi is looking forward to Matthieu Blazy, but she hopes that the inheritance will be preserved, as is that of Coco Chanel. For them, the famous company founder is a role model, especially in these times. “I think it is important to identify with strong women and have them as a role model,” said Casiraghi. At the moment, too much is happening in the world that remind you of how vulnerable the rights of women are.

A development that many designers also employed. Pelz will be the obviously strongest trend for autumn, but many brands also showed strong, feminine looks. They were not aggressive or flop sexy in a clumsy way, but instead played with special cuts and productions. The most unusual showed Duran Lantink. The designer sent models over the catwalk with a revealing fashion, some of them also put silicone body over. Model Mica Arganaraz ran with an artificial men’s breast over the catwalk, a men’s model with bouncing breasts. “It is really important to find out new things and not to take care of the rules too much,” the designer later told the “Vogue”.

Chloé designer Chemena Kamali also works with a similar spirit, but interpreted quite differently and more attracted. She was once again influenced by the freedom spirit of the 1960s and 1970s and showed fashion that relies on blouses with a strong shoulder. At Stella McCartney, you also saw business suits for women who presented them in an office backdrop and reminded of the Vibe of the 1980s.

The collections of Prada and Miu Miu were also special. Instead of ultra-kurz skirts and abdominal-free tops you could see many looks that played with the picture of the perfect woman. To do this, Miuccia Prada was inspired by the 1950s and gave the pointed bag bra, which many models wore on the catwalk, a comeback. Your collection was humorous, but was definitely shaped by the current time. “Today there is a feeling of tension, fear and fear. This season we wanted to create elegance out of nowhere – through everyday life, through the direct processing of simple pieces,” said the designer.

How well her collection was received, the deafening applause at the end of the show. It is already certain that in autumn many influencers will wear Miu Miu looks again and shape the style of the season with their posts on Instagram and Tiktok. It’s just stupid that Miuccia Prada’s most important accessory will also be hanging over her shoulders: fur stolen from Shearling fur.

Until recently, animal rights activists stormed the catwalks of many fashion shows, it has now become quiet around them. Your commitment and loud protest are currently more than asked: Despite all trends, showing attitude is still the best accessory.