London Archives • We Are Fur

Azzedine Alaia, the truth teller

July 13, 2018

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can't be any large-scale revolution until there's a personal revolution, on an individual level. It's got to happen inside first.” - Jim Morrison I know, I know. I told you the next post would be about Alexander McQueen's little treasures found...

McQueen, restoring life’s square deal

June 22, 2018

“You have the power to read in-between lines and look through people… that’s a hitch that will haunt you for the rest of your life.” - The Guru’s dad regular quote whenever he encountered the threat of her questioning the real meaning of life… words, rules, the system or people’s real intentions. And so, it is my darling readers. My father was right; it keeps haunting me. But, it’s good to know I’m not alone in this world. Oh no (no, NO!). Not under any...

AW18 Fashion Week Review

March 13, 2018

The AW18 catwalks shows were a blockbuster of big colours and statements from all four major fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Fur was of course present at these weeks and we have crafted up our review on the fashion weeks and the best fur pieces on display during the past couple months. New York: A city that is fit to kick off the official fashion month, New York offered an eclectic and varied range of inspirations and certainly no...

The real power of anecdotes

October 13, 2017

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. – Martin Luther King, , I have a dream, August 28th, 1963. The Guru believes politics and religion are daring topics. It might be because she comes from an extremely religious family. Or because she has grown up with a strongly political sister who slaps her in the face with weekly reality updates about all sort of social and political misfortunes in the world. Don’t misinterpret the writer of this post;...

Balenciaga: The Master of Shape

July 28, 2017

“Haute couture is like an orchestra, for which only Balenciaga is the conducter. The rest of us are just musicians, following the directions that he gives us” – Christian Dior London couldn’t get more sophisticated than this my darlings! Balenciaga is in town. At the heart of this city, the Victoria & Albert Museum has set an exhibition that has encouraged all fashionistas, researchers and members of the public to wait for weeks just to have the pleasure of seeing closely some of the creations...

Hello Borough Market! We missed you.

June 19, 2017

“Keep calm and carry on.” – ― British Ministry of Information, 1939. You should forgive this Guru, my darling readers. She hasn’t stuck to her promise (very unlike her) of providing you this week with a selection of the most gorgeous fur accessories for the summer. You see, most important matters have happened for the past days, not only in the life of this Guru but, unfortunately in the life of thousands of Londoners. Borough Market’s attack and Grenfell Tower’s fire brought a sad taint...

From London With Love

May 5, 2017

“Paris is a woman but London is an independent man puffing his pipe in a pub.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The arrival of the Craft Week in London has allowed the Guru to enjoy the work of the most emblematic and respected tailors of Savile Row. Anderson & Sheppard has created, together with other tailors and in collaboration with Beaumont Hotel a commissioned, bespoke, capsule wardrobe. Each tailoring house produced an outfit for Jimmy Beaumont, a fictional character invented...

Hockley London: The Art of Re-Invention

April 25, 2017

“Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes.” – J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Hello beautiful people! The Guru just came back from her (well-deserved) holidays and appears to continue with this self-indulgent attitude. Oh, my dearest readers and there’s no better way to lengthen this mood than by paying a visit to one of the best known and beautiful shops in London: Hockley. The Fur...

YOU Animal, ME Human: In Search of Compatibility.

April 10, 2017

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.” – John Muir. Some (if not most) of the monsters humanity envisages (youngsters and adults) tend to have some sort (or a lot) of animal in them. Why? (the Guru ponders…). Well, this lady believes that it is mainly because of what we have been historically and culturally fed with. By this I’m talking about myths, bedtime stories (yes, you know, the big bad wolf?), folklore. Animals come and go, have appeared and disappeared...

Fur and shearling make their mark across RTW AW2017

March 13, 2017

Fur and shearling once again took centre stage across all four leading AW17 fashion weeks, with an estimated 67% of collections overall featuring the natural materials. This compares with last year’s AW collections when fur was seen in around 70% of all collections. Fur use is holding up despite pressure from animal rights organisations. From the oversized 70s throwback coats of Marc Jacobs to the soft longline pieces from Ryan Roche, New York Fashion Week saw 90 of 146 designers (62%) craft beautiful fur pieces....

The Book of Beasts: Chapter 4

November 17, 2016

The Turtledove: —From Guillaume le Clerc Bestiaire: “Now I must tell you of another bird which is courteous and beautiful, and which loves much and is much loved. This is the turtledove. The male and the female are always together in mountain or in desert, and if perchance the female loses her companion never more will she cease to mourn for him, never more will she sit upon green branch or leaf. Nothing in the world can induce her to take another mate, but...

London Fashion Week comes to an end

February 24, 2016

Fur in London Fashion Week The last few days of London Fashion Week showed us an array of designs, varying from the more sophisticated to the more playful. Designers have incorporated fur into their collections, using different techniques and materials to create exciting pieces. AF Vandervorst The AF Vandervorst collection is one that never fails to surprise and this year they presented one of the most unpredictable and quirky designs on the catwalk. The use of edgy accessories and the eccentric portrayal of the models...