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It is beautiful, warm and cozy. True, not always practical and very expensive. And yet, it is natural for people to strive for the possession of fur – and the reason for this is not only the cold. It attracts, delights, magnetizes.
Strictly speaking, our civilized contemporaries do not have any urgent need for fur clothing: high technology offers us a lot of perfect heat-insulating materials. But many of us are still unable to give up fur.
It attracts, delights, magnetizes. As for the Russians, the love for natural fur can be called their national trait: according to the British Fur Trade Association, our country is considered the largest consumer of furs*. Of course, this indifference is partly due to the cold climate, but it’s not just that. It seems that here we find ourselves in the intricacies of cultural traditions and social cliches, endlessly striving for a new fashion and our unconscious instincts, which are rooted in the distant past.
Motive of the season
Famously shifted over the ear berets made of mink; lush, from the steppe fox, cozy vests; lapels of boots, decorated with a strip of raccoon fur; round sable epaulette lanterns on strict tweed sleeves; flirty pom-poms on kid gloves and, finally, extravagant bunny spats. “Fur has firmly established itself not only in fashion collections, but also in the class of finishes and accessories,” notes fashion columnist Lidia Shamina. – The real trend of the season is bags made of fur, perforated or whole. Decorated with rhinestones, sequins, sequins, pom-poms and fox tails, long-handled fur bags are today’s chic, an indicator of frivolity and glamour. Current fashion reveals the main motive: fur is loved more for its beauty than for the warmth it gives. And many want, if not to wrap themselves in it entirely, then at least to assimilate a particle of its special energy that nourishes our sensuality.
Turning to the body
Gestalt therapist Olga Dolgopolova talks about her vision of the relationship between a person and fur clothing.
“A person living in our latitudes has to spend a lot of energy on his own heating. This is a given of our existence, and therefore we need to replenish these costs. Putting on clothes made of fur, we not only save our energy, but in a sense we can also use its energy. A woman in furs seems to radiate this released energy outward and therefore is perceived as warmer, more prosperous, desirable, sexually attractive. If we go back to distant human history, we will see: a man hunted animals, including in order to warm himself. Moreover, animal skins were for our ancestors not only clothing, but also shelter and bedding. Men and women made love to them, inhaling their special smell, and therefore sex on a fur carpet spread on the floor in the light of a burning hearth is still perceived by many of us as one of the most sensual, exciting scenes. In addition, touching soft fur sends a signal to the brain: safety, comfort, calmness. And this feeling is also conducive to getting pleasure, to enjoying sex.
Every hunter wants
“Furs have the value of something rare, obtained with difficulty and risk, as in the days of primitive hunting,” explains social psychologist Yulia Fedotova. “Therefore, the perception of fur by a man has a very special connotation. Here is the pride of the earner, and the display of one’s own social status (in contrast to the golden ring, it is hard not to notice the fur coat on the companion). Such a thing as, for example, a mink or sable coat declares publicly that a man is a good hunter. And his companion, who managed to attract the attention of such an exceptional hunter, thereby also asserts her feminine originality.
Today, voluminous, as they say, rich fur coats have been replaced by elegant, but invariably feminine small coats: emphasized waist, flared bottom. “A-silhouette reigns both on the catwalks and on the streets,” says Lidia Shamina. – Any smooth fur is suitable for a small fur coat – from astrakhan fur and its derivatives, broadtail and swakara, to elegant mink, sheared and plucked. As well as any accessory – from a wide lacquer belt to a favorite of the season, long kid gloves. (Nuance: the sleeves can be turned up or rolled up a little.) This incredibly feminine outfit is complemented by leggings, ankle boots, over the knee boots. The times when acid minks and foxes reigned on the catwalks have already passed. Today, the natural color of fur is in fashion, and black, shiny, like a panther’s skin, is recognized as the most relevant.
In the skin of a predator
“The many-sided palette of black, the fashionable color of intellectuals, attracts many,” says Lidia Shamina. – On the one hand, we perceive it as the color of elegance, sensuality, refined style: regardless of the length of the pile and style, it is easy for anyone to feel like an exceptional creation in such fur. On the other hand, black is practical and comfortable: it acts as a defender, who does not care about anything external. Another fashionable extreme is the cat family. All furs mimic a leopard, from rabbit to mink, and appear before us in the form of gloves, ankle boots, half boots and muffs.
Like our ancient ancestors, we dress up in the skin of a predator and seem to appropriate its qualities: dexterity and strength, flexibility and speed. “Fur excites our primitive instincts,” Yulia Fedotova explains. – In addition to affection, there is also rapacity in him at the same time. What allows a woman to attract the attention of a male hunter, but at the same time not feel like a defenseless victim.
Some do not just wear fur, but use it (or animal skins) in interior design, as home decor. “This may indicate a certain “predatory” component of our nature,” says Yulia Fedotova. “The hunter is still alive inside of us, and although he no longer has to shoot, he still needs the appropriate “trophies”.
* http://www.britishfur.co.uk
With love for animals and humanity
The environmental movement is conquering the minds of the planet: it is likely that fur will gradually go out of fashion, at least as a sign of status.
Already now, some famous people prefer to confirm their high social status by demonstrating a developed environmental consciousness. Following the stars (including Brigitte Bardot, Ornella Muti, Nastassja Kinski, Christy Turlington), politicians, businessmen and even fashion designers refuse fur. In many Western countries, there are practically no specialized shops selling furs left. So, in Britain they can only be found in Harrods, and even that is regularly blocked by pickets of the “greens”.
And one could only welcome the environmental campaigns to protect animals if they weren’t so aggressive – already against humans. Refraining from moral assessments, we state the fact that fur farming (breeding of fur animals for the sake of fur), along with animal husbandry, is indeed one of the most environmentally polluted industries and often leads to groundwater pollution with phosphorus, nitrogen and caustic chemicals that are used for dressing skins. Another risk factor is the breeding of certain species of animals in areas for which they are uncharacteristic, which can lead to an imbalance in the ecological balance. On the one hand, it is clear that production technologies – both fur and its substitutes – will inevitably improve over time.
On the other hand, man is a part of nature, and each of us has to decide what kind of interaction with it is natural for him.
Elena Lomakina
Sourced from www.infurmation.org, www.peta.org