BERLIN — Fur coats, fur hats and other accessories are back as we see “granny furs” and unique, reworked pieces being snapped up, say secondhand store owners and furriers.

“This is the first year that these special grandma fur coats are really coming back into fashion,” says Rosemoon Cunningham, co-owner of Ophelia Vintage, a shop in Berlin's trendy Friedrichshain area.

But animal rights activists remain critical, even of those wearing used fur items.Fur as a statement

For Cunningham, fur is a statement that sparks discussion. “It takes courage to wear a fur coat. You're wearing an animal, which can be provocative.” She makes sure to chat to customers before every sale. The vintage aspect is crucial for her. “For us, genuine vintage fur is something completely different from new fur production."

She sees furs from before the 1980s to be more ethically acceptable. They are clearly recognizable as historical garments. Many come from grandmothers, from the 1940s or 1960s, often with a personal story. “It would be terrible if these coats just ended up in a landfill,” she says. For many buyers, this argument is the key factor.Faux fur or faux pas

People in their mid-twenties to thirties are particularly likely to buy them – inspired by pop culture and the unconventional Berlin style, Cunningham says. Fur is seen as a means of expression, but remains a niche product. Faux fur sells faster.

Diana Durdic from Sing Blackbird Vintage in Berlin-Neukölln agrees. “It's also not sustainable to produce new faux fur. It's better to use real fur that has already been worn and is thus saved from being thrown away,” she says.

Initially sceptical, she ultimately decided to offer fur because of the sustainability aspect. Transparency about origin and condition is crucial.Most of the 300 coats sold

The trend is also clearly noticeable in the second-hand store wsiura. “Fur fashion is selling very well,” says employee Kanya. The chilly season, fashion functionality and current trends are driving sales, she says. Long coats, scarves, and hats from older decades are particularly in demand. “This year we had 300 fur coats in the store, and now there are only nine or 10 left.” Many customers specifically order vintage furs, she adds.

Another driver is Slavic style. “People want to look Eastern European,” says Kanya. They are also taking their cue from some international catwalks, where fur is making a comeback.

"We saw college students coming in to buy fur, which we haven't seen in years," Larry Cowit, owner of Madison Avenue Furs, told the BBC. He also says young people were carefully weighing up the pros and cons of vintage versus fake furs.

Fur is also cautiously returning to places with milder winters than Germany and the US. In London, Holly Watkins, owner of vintage boutique One Scoop Store, told the BBC she had seen a shift away from selling real fur to fake alternatives in recent years, especially among the young.

For some, vintage fur also has nostalgic value. Some even buy it exclusively for their collections.Better as cushions and blankets?

The German Animal Welfare Association is critical of not only new fur, but also second-hand fur. “Fur always stands for animal suffering — regardless of whether the product is bought new, passed on, or put back into circulation as secondhand,” says spokeswoman Nadia Wattad.

Wearing real fur — even second-hand — can contribute to making fur socially acceptable again and establishing it as fashion. “This sends the wrong signal and can promote trends that ultimately also benefit the market for new fur products,” says Wattad. The German Animal Welfare Association advises people opt for fur-free, animal-friendly alternatives.

From an animal welfare perspective, existing furs should be recycled into sofa cushions or blankets. That way, they can keep people warm while preventing fur from gaining traction in the fashion world.

Furriers such as Birgit Pietsch from Berlin use fur from the Weprefur label. The Central Association of Furriers promotes fur from ethical hunting in forests, fields, and meadows, so fur that would otherwise go to waste. “National animal welfare and legal hunting guidelines are of course complied with here,” it says.

But the Animal Welfare Association is also critical of the Weprefur initiative. It is an “attempt to portray certain types of fur as ecological and animal-friendly and thus give fur a better image in general.”

Pietsch says young people in particular are tending to wear old clothes rather than buy new ones for sustainability reasons. In her shop, she also alters old furs or sews them into modern designs. A fur that can be worn for decades is sustainable. “It's better than wearing faux fur, which is made from crude oil,” she says.

Furrier Isabel Penth from Völklingen in Germany also counts many young people between the ages of 20 and 30 among her customers. “They come with fur items they have inherited from their grandmothers and have them reworked,” says Penth, a craftswoman who upcycles items.

In addition to jackets and coats, these also include home accessories such as pillows and blankets. “Fur can be worn for 50 to 80 years. No other material can do that,” she says.Some catwalks fur-free

The issue remains divisive at many levels, as some major fashion shows banish fur even as individual designers flaunt faux fur creations.

Norway became the first country in the world to officially ban fur clothing from fashion shows according to reports. Norwegians decided fur items would not be presented back in 2011.

Major fashion shows including London followed suit, also excluding the use of animal skins such as snake and crocodile.

And more recently, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which owns and organizes New York Fashion Week, decided to ban fur on the runway in 2026, according to Plant Based News environmental website and animal protection news sites.

Berlin Fashion Week also decided to ban fashion featuring new feathers, exotic skins or fur on its catwalks, likewise as of 2026.

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