How to get the mob wife aesthetic with vintage fur like Rihanna, Sofia Coppola and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen – classic 70s pieces from Gucci and Saint Laurent are the ethical face of fur in 2024

Jan 29 , 2024

Singer, businesswoman and fashion icon Rihanna – pictured with A$AP Rocky at the 2023 Met Gala – is a fan of vintage fur, as are Saweetie and Winnie Harlow, while Sofia Coppola, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were rocking the look back in the noughties. Photo: WWD via Getty Images

Other than Carrie Bradshaw sitting on a stoop wearing one with a silk slip and snakeskin boots, and Kate Hudson in Almost Famous, there are few people to wear a vintage fur coat quite like Rihanna.

The singer, style icon and new mother has been snapped in several vintage fur coats this year, including the one she wore on her way to the Met Gala (before disrobing to reveal her jaw-dropping Valentino cocoon). She wore another on a night out in New York in November last year.

Rihanna, seen in May 2023 in New York, three and a half months before the singer gave birth to her second child with A$AP Rocky. Photo: Gotham/GC Images

How vintage fur starting trending in 2024

Rihanna isn’t the only celebrity to opt for vintage fur in recent months, with the likes of Saweetie and Winnie Harlow also choosing fuzzy options.

While arguments around whether vintage fur is more sustainable and ethical than buying fur today remain, the International Fur Federation (IFF), which represents all facets of its supply chain, recently unveiled a new labelling system called FurCycle that identities vintage and pre-owned fur.

Kate Hudson rocked a fur collar in the 2000 movie Almost Famous. Photo: Handout

Furs aged 20 years and above will be classified as vintage, and those made at least three years ago as pre-owned. The IFF said of the new system, launched in November, that it represents a “a meticulous inspection process by a certified professional furrier, ensuring it meets the highest standards of quality and authenticity”. It follows FurMark, launched one year earlier, a global certification and traceability system for natural fur.

Johnny Valencia, owner of the Los Angeles-based celebrity go-to vintage store Pechuga Vintage, says not all vintage fur is created (or maintained) equally, or worth the investment.

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, pictured in 2007, were fans of vintage fur back in the noughties. Photo: FilmMagic

What to look for when shopping for vintage fur?

“Definitely quality. Never purchase pieces that are falling apart,” he says. “Fur is very difficult to repair because it’s panelled and unless you have someone that knows how to work the construction of a garment or has handled fur then I say it’s best to skip on the piece altogether. Look also for any missing patches of hair on your fur: this will indicate that the skin has dried out from severe sun exposure or improper storage.”

In the early days of Pechuga Vintage, Valencia consigned a fur coat from the 1930s from a client who’d worked with Alexander McQueen, sparking an interest in researching Schiaparelli fur from the same era. He says his clients tend to buy “iconic” fur chubbies from Gucci and oversized coats from Yves Saint Laurent.

Sofia Coppola, pictured in 2005, is also an original vintage-fur muse. Photo: Corbis via Getty Images

Yves Saint Laurent, in its glory 70s years, is Valencia’s other favourite era for vintage furs. “The emerald green fox fur coat from Yves Saint Laurent’s spring/summer 1971 Libération collection is one of my personal favourites and it’s the look that is my go-to when I style fur,” he says.

Kerry Pieri, a US-based freelance editor and content creator who regularly posts vintage styling advice on Instagram, owns two vintage fur pieces, one bought from the Chelsea Flea Market Garage and the other on eBay many years ago.

Rihanna seen out and about in New York in April 2023. Photo: GC Images

“I’ve always been a proponent of vintage for sustainability and style reasons and fur fits into that ethos, plus it’s very warm,” she says. “Of course, there’s a lot of debate around the ethics of fur, but vintage pieces objectively break down quickly [once they are discarded], whereas most faux furs are made of plastic or petrochemicals. There have been some advancements in faux, but the majority of the pieces that are being purchased now do not utilise those. And plastics don’t break down.”

Pieri, who lists Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Sofia Coppola as her muses for wearing vintage fur, says the material is also something that you buy once and never throw away.

“I actually haven’t purchased a vintage fur in a few years, but I keep them forever. The two that I wear are easily eight to 10 years old, but with that said, I love the idea of the International Fur Federation’s new FurCycle programme that ensures you’re buying vintage fur ethically,” she says.

Fashion

Is it OK to wear vintage fur? More sustainable than faux fur and more ethical than new fur, preloved pieces have found favour with the A-list likes of Rihanna, Sofia Coppola, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, Saweetie and Winnie Harlow
Launched last November, the International Fur Federation’s FurCycle system classifies furs aged 20 years and above as vintage, and those made at least three years ago as pre-owned – but is a backlash brewing?