Kate Middleton was under fire last week after this image emerged showing her wearing what looked like a real fur jacket. After the International Fur Foundation posted a note on their Facebook page complimenting the Duchess on the coat, PETA was quick to criticise her leading the Palace to release a statement refuting the reports. "Her Royal Highness was not wearing fur," they confirmed. "The coat was not lined with fur. We therefore insist that you remove the photo from your social media page and issue an immediate public retraction of your claim."
These are the famous words of Alice + Olivia designer Stacey Bendet, who recently launched M.A.C.'s alice+olivia collection. Arriving at the launch in a vibrant red number and sporting one of her own pieces, a Mongolian Lamb vest, she looked nothing short of chic. However, the designer talked about her mixed feelings towards her vegan nature and some of the clothes that she makes, beautiful but against what she believes in.
"I'm vegan. I don't eat animals. I don't put meat in my body. So every once in a while I think it's okay to wear it. But I made it — I'm probably going to hell."
A similar viewpoint on the fur debate is endorsed by Kelly Bensimon, who talked about the issue on a recent episode of Real Housewives. This was noted by Lucy Sykes who attended the launch with husband, Euan Rellie to congratulate Bendet on all her work.
Bendet's last words at the evening on the matter were "I don't feel that guilty wearing it. I don't know why. It doesn't make sense. But something about putting it inside me feels really barbaric. Something about wearing it just feels a little glamorous."
Of all designers, Gilles Mendel - he of the noted furrier family - wouldn't miss out on this fall's mega-trend. The J. Mendel AW10 collection included fur, and lots of it, with more than half of the pieces including some form of the textile. Mendel told Style.com he wanted to experiment with technology to make his coats, jackets and even fur-epaulet wool dresses as light as possible. And in his effort, he came up with a stock of wearable, and marketable, pieces.
The designer's supply of dresses (in black, deep jewel tones and bright red) weren't necessarily groundbreaking, but they were equally desirable. We especially like a metallic-red mermaid gown that would catch just the right light from the paparazzi flashbulbs. Perhaps one of Mendel's guests, Brooke Shields, had her eye on that style?
Vogue editors from across the globe bundled up in fur this New York Fashion Week, with Anna Wintour choosing stripes at last night's William Rast show and her French counterpart, Carine Roitfeld, picking a cowlneck style at Diesel Black Gold.
Thakoon Panichgul's Fall 2010 collection signalled a movement away from his usual romantic and feminine aesthetic to something with a harder edge.
The collection had a thrown-together feel that worked. This season he explored textures, playing with chiffon and light fabrics against heavy wools, feathers, Mongolian lamb gillets and fur ranging from mink to raccoon. The colour palette remained sombre, moving from dark greys to black and beige, with the exception of one bright yellow dress with ruffle detail along the chest and along the hemline.
When you're wrapping up this winter we know it's not all about keeping warm. The only way to keep the cold out this season is with oversized textured pieces. With knitwear the only rule is the chunkier the better. Quirky cut out detailing or shaggy fringing will add to the textured style of this trend. Leather, suede and fur compliment the knitwear by continuing the textile theme. Larger than life snoods and scarves are a must and you could even take up knitting, either way it's all perfect to keep you toasty this Christmas.
