What's all the fuzz about


On tuesday, the humane society of the united states accused various manufacturers and retailers of selling mislabeled fur, some of it derived from dogs, wolves and raccoon dogs.The group filed a legal petition with the federal trade commission looking to michael kors online outlet get the merchandise off the racks and the stores and design houses fined.

People for the ethical treatment of animals also fired off a press release announcing that tommy hilfiger has decided to ban fur from future collections.

Two weeks earlier, fur protesters managed to sneak past security to interrupt the valentino and christian lacroix runway shows in paris, where they optimized their likelihood of capturing attention by stripping michael kors bags australia off their clothes before hoisting their anti fur placards aloft.They were quickly tackled by security guards, but not before spectators got a full frontal eyeful.

All of this comes as design houses such as christian dior, hermes, gucci, chado ralph rucci and michael kors, which was named in the humane society complaint, continue to put extravagant furs on the runway for fall 2007.Fur sales have been rising for seven years, according to the fur information council of america, an industry trade association.It reports that year to year sales of fur coats and accessories were up by 9.1 percent in 2005, the last year for which numbers were available.That increase puts global fur sales at more than $12.7 billion and that's only counting sales through furriers, not through outlets such as department stores.

For all the legal wrangling and the runway streaking, an enormous number of consumers remain committed to wearing fur as well as crocodile, alligator, ostrich and a host of other exotic animal skins that do not get the same attention as fur.

Prying their stoles and chubbies from their warm hands will require a different strategy than another telling of the sad life and painful death of a mink.All consumers negotiate some sort of moral stance on animal life.

A few take the position that no animal should suffer in their name and they eat brown rice and broccoli, skip putting honey in their tea, wear canvas shoes and shun products that have been tested on animals.

These are people who refuse to swat flies but, rather, try to graciously usher them to the nearest open window.

Others are vegetarians but wear leather shoes.Many people eat meat, wear leather shoes and coats but refuse to wear fur.Perhaps those folks would be amenable to the rabbit fur used in the maison martin margiela presentation in paris.Show notes assured the audience that the rabbits' death resulted in sunday dinner as well as a coat.

Some people wear only vintage fur.And then there are those who would wear a sable swimsuit if they could.

If the goal is to persuade people to stop wearing fur now but not deny them the right to a burger and a pair of cowboy boots it would be more expedient to address the reason they want to wear fur at all.For all of the talk about its beauty and warmth, the reality is that fur's popularity is based on status.It instantly conveys wealth and success.All those rappers who swaddle themselves in fur as soon as they sign their first record deals aren't doing it because mink is the only thing that can keep them warm in the winter.It's to acknowledge their accomplishment.

Those blackglama fur ads featuring people such as catherine deneuve, audrey hepburn, ray charles and bette davis made the connection between fur and achievement clear: "What becomes a legend most? "

The best faux fur cannot do what even the cheapest mink can, which is bestow stature, even if it is only in the wearer's mind.So what if that mangy mink coat looks fake.The wearer knows it is not.

The wearer knows that it was her reward for a promotion or for running a marathon or putting the kid through college.It's not just a coat that's being purchased it's everything that the coat stands for.It doesn't matter if the fur is as garish as a ferrari or as ostentatious as a hummer.It doesn't matter if it marks the wearer as an arriviste.That, after all, is often the point.

Only a small minority of people can discern a sable from a mink at 50 paces.There is only a subtle difference in softness.But in a rarefied corner of the fashion world, people michael kors handbags outlet detect those distinctions.And they know that the difference in cost between mink and sable can be more than tenfold.Few things so quietly but succinctly announce wealth to a target audience.

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