It wasn’t so long ago that furs were considered the pinnacle of fashion. From Hollywood movie stars to fashion models, to the rich and famous and basically everyone who could afford them, fur coats were a clear indicator that one had “made it.”

However, it wasn’t before the fur market took a sudden downturn, and seemingly overnight, fur jackets, fur stoles and mink hats were nowhere to be seen. More recently however, it seems that the market has made a turnaround. Slowly but surely fur clothing of all kinds seemed poised to make a comeback. Nowadays, fur has once again become a fixture in fashion capitals all over the world.

Nowhere has the coming back into favor of fur coats been more apparent than in the fashion capitals of London, Paris, New York and Milan. In recently concluded fashion weeks in these cities, almost everyone who hailed from colder climates was wearing fur of some sort. Even the British Fur Trade Association has acknowledged this newfound popularity of the classic mink coat, among other fur items, citing a “a significant growth in fur sales” in the United Kingdom. This trend mirrors a global increase in the sales of fur clothing, which amounted to $13 billion in 2008. This figure represents an increase of almost 60 % compared to the combined sale of furs at the end of the 1990s.

Whether or not this represents a continuing trend for a wider acceptance of fur stoles, fur vests, and fur coats remains to be seen. But the move of the British Fur Trade Association to market its products as “responsible (clothing) choices” does seem to signify a wider acceptability of furs in today’s fashion market. And going by that indication alone, it appears that the best days of fur are still yet to come.