What Should We Make of All the Fur at NYFW?

Is fur a faux pas? If the streets of New York are any indication, not at all.

Attendees at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) — facing sub-freezing temperatures and bitter winds for the majority of it — stepped out in fur coats, hats, and stoles. It’s not just the fashion set: New Yorkers, young and old, are fitted in fur. For some, it’s vintage; others faux. Some are more recent purchases, perhaps sourced from one of New York’s “fur guys”, peddlers of genuine mink and fox pieces found in neighborhoods like the Meatpacking District, or the Lower East Side. More than one person admitted to telling people their fur is vintage when it’s not. One guest outside the Calvin Klein show was wearing a raccoon hat, tail and all. When asked where he got it, he winced: “TikTok Shop. I actually don’t know what it’s really made out of.”

“The animal is already dead. I have no shame,” one person said at a fashion week party with an eyeroll. “It’s just so cold,” an editor said about her penchant for fur. “It’s a lot of young girls buying right now,” says Nick Pologeorgis, co-chair of the American Fur Council and owner of New York-based fur manufacturer Pologeorgis, which sells its own pieces and also licenses to brands. How does he explain this rise in demand, even as the industry has cracked down on fur? “People want it,” he says.

Fur’s moment is incongruous with the direction the industry at large is headed. Last fall, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) announced that fur would be banned from the New York Fashion Week runways (not including shearling) starting next season, Spring/Summer 2027. Fur production globally is on the decline, with 140 million foxes, mink, and raccoon dogs killed on fur farms in 2014 falling to roughly 20 million animals killed in 2024, an 85% decline, according to Humane World for Animals. Brands and retailers like Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Bloomingdale’s, Selfridges, Saks and more have pledged to stop using real animal fur in their collections, or selling it.

These bans were supported by a dwindling social acceptance of furs, alongside pressure campaigns from animal rights groups. But the look has undergone a resurgence in the last few years. The mob wife aesthetic kicked things off in 2024; it has since exploded in popularity, less so tied to a micro-trend and now part of everyday winter wardrobes, particularly in New York (where this winter has been particularly cold, meaning more are reaching for their furs) compared to other fashion cities.

The fur aesthetic is also showing up in more collections. Fforme, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, Lii, Anna Sui, Altuzarra, Khaite, and more put furry pieces down the runway in the form of big, long coats, wraps, hats and trims. A$AP Rocky, showing his label AWGE in New York for the first time, did a victory lap wearing a voluminous fur snood wrapped around his head.