FAKE NEWS

Faux fur rules the runway

Vanities/Fashion

When even Donatella Versace, goddess of high glitz, announces, as she did this spring, "Fur? I am out of that," you know you're in the midst of a moment. Within the past year, the houses of Gucci, Michael Kors, Tom Ford, and Furla have pledged to reduce and eliminate the use of fur in future collections, joining the ranks of already fur-free Armani, Stella McCartney, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein. And in a sweeping move, retailer Net-a-Porter announced last year it would no longer sell real fur to its 3.1 million luxury-loving customers.

Accordingly, the fall 2018 runways were full of, well, fakes. In New York, Michael Kors delivered a trim leopard trench; in Milan, Gucci's Alessandro Michele stayed true to Margot Tenenbaum with a clutch coat of butterscotch-hued fluff. And Paris's fiercest waiting lists of the season are doubtless for the half-dozen fauxs that set the tone for Clare Waight Keller's second ready-to-wear collection for Givenchy. Inspired by the gritty, glamorous 80s Berlin seen in the 2015 documentary B Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin, the parade of faux opened with this lush blackand-caramel belted overcoat. Both haute and a little haughty, with just the right hint of Mob wife, it is chic enough to seduce even the most stalwart fake-fur skeptic.

MAGGIE BULLOCK

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