The history of men's fur coats From Ivy League to Drake

«I would rather go naked than wear fur,» declared the slogan of the PETA campaign led by Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford in 1994. Their bodies, devoid of any covering, left room for written words to discuss the points of a political and aesthetic manifesto on which fashion has been called upon to express itself multiple times. Whether it's mink, ermine, coyote, or other species, today the trendiest fur is synthetic or wool, despite carrying social meanings that deserve careful consideration. Especially when worn by men who have reinterpreted its codes and altered the storyboard.

Where does the trend of men's fur coat originate?

Cam’ron, in the midst of the 2000s, wears a pink mink fur whose styling seems to break down the fragile boundary between y2k and bling mc - "gorgeous gangster" in its synthesis released to GQ US. Three years later, in 2005, Snoop Dogg wears a dandy-proof suit with a flamboyant fur. To the list, of course, could not be missing Kanye West who, as hinted in the 2012 song Cold (“Tell PETA my mink is dragging on the floor”), flaunted furs at least until 2014. If the US rapper appeared at the FW14 Givenchy show in what looks like a rabbit fur, the coyote fur worn in 2016 by Justin Bieber on the streets of Los Angeles made headlines for being totally out of place considering the temperatures of Southern California. Following, although with different backgrounds and stories, are Asap Rocky, Drake, Ezra Miller, and Harry Styles as spokespersons for the controversial garment par excellence.

Renowned Vogue US editor André Leon Talley, who wore furs, said that “to be aristocratic, you didn't have to be born into an aristocratic family” - fur, initially, was the most elitist and exclusive thing in circulation. Whether "real" or "eco," the reality is that today it no longer represents an exclusive garment or identifies with any community or subculture. Its evocative power, already diminished by the right (though debatable in the case of environmentally unsustainable synthetic fibers) choice to no longer produce animal furs, no longer constitutes a statement. At most, as happens in the world of post-truth, it acts as a recovery item: Gen Z rediscovers it on Pinterest, retrieves it from the family closet, and, in the worst case, seeks the perfect dupe among fast fashion shelves for TikTok fit checks. Furs, now, are just furs.