History is beautiful and tends to capture our attention! Humans began wearing clothing pieces crafted from fur fabric from the beginning of time as long as animals were there.
There were professional people dealing with animals killing and harnessing their potential. Those people were called hunters and trappers—just like their names, they were engaged in hunting and trapping animals for two purposes: One, for food and two, for fur. Food could feed them and their families, while fur could make luxury and eye-catching garments.
The essence of skin in animals were thick, smooth and hairy coats. The key ingredients for making warm clothing.
Although people came with other alternative fabrics that could do the same job as fur yet fur clothes remained to be the dominant fashion statement and clearly embodied wealth and luxury of the wearer.
Statement pieces like coat, wrap, hat and stole were crafted with soft texture and rich fur. Typical animals that were in huge demand for fur stitching were mink, sable, ermine, fox and muskrat.
The brilliant reminder is that, the second world war took place from 1939 to 1945 and was characterized with frugality and uniformity in clothing since the huge portion of attention was placed in the fight not in fashion.
Being said—fashion history rewinds the 1950s as a huge comeback for fur addicts. Women loved to flaunt their wealth and social status in fur ensembles. Fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar became the number one sources for promoting women wearing fur.
Speaking about screen appearance—fur enthusiasts were seen in movies such as The Lady Wants Mink (1953), Make Mine Mink (1960) and That Touch of Mink (1962).
The 1920s also saw the same fur addiction as the 1950s. Women wore fur in movies such as Ermine and Rhinestones (1925), Orchids and Ermine (1927), and The Lady in Ermine (1927). The key driver was an economic boom among people.
Although wearing fur was a subtle indication of high social status—killing animals in order to take advantage of fur was considered as brutality. The late 20th century saw the resurgence of environmental education and animal protection campaigns which led to the huge drop of fur garments in the market.
The animal rights activists strongly discouraged the use of animal fur to make clothing—therefore fur addicts opted for fake fur.
REFERENCES:
Cudlipp, Edythe. Furs. New York: Hawthorn Books, 1978.
Kaplan, David Gordon. World of Furs. New York: Fairchild Publications, 1974.