Faux Or No?

Text: Billy Bride


At last, after many a dead-end and wild goose chase, I have finally laid my hands upon the perfect faux-leopard coat of my dreams. I will fess-up, rather sheepishly, that this is the first faux-fur I have ever owned. I know, it’s criminal, but I’ve always turned my nose up at the poly-pelts and phony pony skins. Not only because the inflammable synthetics present a serious health hazard when navigating your path ‘twixt the maze of hot-oil radiators in Winter months (let’s do our very best to avoid the Wicked Witches final melting moments, shall we?), but also because the acrid acetate, aside from looking less than desirable, doesn’t necessarily provide a sustainable solution to the unmentionable alternative – the artificial processing of all this synthetic madness still results in significant chemical wastage and environmental damage. Only adding to the burden on our dearest Mother Nature.

Well, luckily for us, there has never been a trendier time for designers to climb aboard the PETA bandwagon, forcing the industry into some titillating new developments on the animal-friendly faux front. Everyone’s favourite eco-activist Stella McCartney, has developed startlingly silky fur mimicry fashioned from dense whirls of hand tufted yarns. Akin to this are the Rodarte sisters’ chaotic shag pile sweaters, and fashion houses are united in pushing the boundaries in treating hi-twist cotton, wool and mohair blended yarns with developments in starchy resin coating and dip dyeing depth simulators. The jury is still out on whether wearing vintage gets the A-OK, but I’ll steer clear of that ethical can of worms for now…

Check back each Thursday for more on the fashion world from Billy Bride