Around this time last year, the Fall/ Winter 2012-13 shows were having their ‘Big Bird’ moment — read Fendi, Michael Kors, Pucci, Dennis Basso, etc. As coats got bigger, fluffier, bulkier, the old “you should wear the clothes, the clothes shouldn’t be wearing you” rule was turned on its head. Hopefully, that’s behind us. Velvet too brought back vintage appeal, as seen in Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Bottega Veneta, Emporio Armani, Burberry.
Fall/ Winter 2013, on the other hand, is relying on a tinier piece of fluff — fur shrugs. At a staggering frequency, unfortunately.
New York, where the season’s action started, saw fur shrugs at Carolina Herrera, Wes Gordon, ICB by Prabal Gurung (the designer’s second line), Badgley Mischka, Dennis Basso, Vera Wang, Oscar de la Renta, J. Mendel, Yigal Azrouel, Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs.
In London, where the action moved next, Tom Ford kept the tempo going in his debut catwalk presentation at London Fashion Week with coloured mink.
Very early on in Milan, Frida Giannini at Gucci set up what constitutes the nightmare of anti-fur crusaders in a leather-and-fur overload. With rounded shoulders, fishnet inserts and snakeskin accessories, there was no letting up. And Muiccia Prada, a day later, ensured they remained the season’s biggest talking point.
