The Politics Of Fur In America

Disconnect of Furs

Fur coat cultural dissonance are not necessarily two components that one would string together under ordinary circumstances. However, contextually, they feed a more significant, over the arching narrative in American socio-economic politics. The fur coat represents a smaller battle on a more massive battlefield of socio-economic empowerment. The fur coat, while in the grand scheme of human evolution, represents next to nothing, serves as a visible platform of “economic arrival” for many. Politics of fur in America is more profound than one would think.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/31/style/fur-black-women-history.html

The Harlem Renaissance: Flash Point

Fur coat culture have long thought as a status symbol amongst larger demographic groups in the United States. This unique luxury item was(is) seen as both fashionably chic and practical. It signaled an arrival into a rarefied sphere of economic success and stability. Segments of other socio-economic groups clamored and envisioned themselves adorned in such an item. The belief was that enough hard work and savings would enable them to attain the same secure status of economic arrival and stability. The reality was further from that process than many knew. However, some were able to achieve it. The Harlem Renaissance was an era of mild prosperity that enabled other socio-economic groups to wash in the glorious arrangement of fur luxury and status.

Harlem was the cultural epicenter of New York City at one point. “Uptown” was the place to be on any given weekend. It was awash with human vibrancy. It was an entertainment and culinary destination point for the well-heeled and established power brokers of New York’s elite class. Fashionably dressed patrons of distinction attired themselves in the best, contemporary styles of the day. The fur coat, of course, was the exclamatory punctuation mark on any wardrobe ensemble. It immediately designated one as having flourished and achieved material success, at least to the indiscriminate eye. It was here that some of Harlem’s working residents set their sights on working towards and acquiring the same status, at least in terms of wardrobe. The first fashion acquisition being the fur coat in all of its glory and prestige.

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20161004-did-the-20s-really-roar

Fur Furor Forward

The 60′,70’s,80’s, and 90’s fur story evolved and engrained itself within certain socio-economic groups in the United States while diminishing in the broader US demographic.  Politicization of the fur coat and fur related products from special interest groups coincided with an all-out fashion inclusion of fur-related products amongst other groups. These different groups had worked on an economic platform that allowed them to purchase and own fur luxury items once relegated to specific socio-economic demography within America.

Many from the entertainment, sporting and political realms within the smaller socio-economic groups in America found themselves now adorned in beautiful, fashion-forward fur coats and fur related products. These were tokens they gave to themselves for having worked to attain a level of economic success. Unfortunately, their ascension to this level of fur ownership undercut by an ever-increasing drumbeat from the larger, dominant class demographic in the United States to cease from the manufacturing and sale of fur related products. Thus, the cultural dissonance amongst types concerning furs in America ensued.

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/04/world/the-war-against-the-fur-trade-backfires-endangering-a-way-of-life.html

Fur Coats are Here to Stay

Fur coats are here to stay, in one fashion or another. Regardless of the limited narrative assigned to fur products on the part of a small set of special interest groups in America, fur coat design and production continue in the United States. Marc Kaufman Furs is a centuries-old,multi-generational family furrier group. They have operated as fur designers and fur manufacturers at the highest qualitative level for nearly 150 years. They have serviced all classifications and groups of the global citizenry without reservation or preference. Marc Kaufman Furs is a primary furrier of choice worldwide. They have seen it all and done it all as far as fur production, and fur design. Their global online sales store is operational 365 days a year in all time zones. The flagship store for Marc Kaufman Furs located in New York City, Kaufman’s, is minutes away from the world-famous Herald Square. Feel free to shop Marc Kaufman Furs for all of your fur needs.

https://kaufmanfurs.com/online-furs/