Russian demand fuels a comeback of the N. American fur market
North American fur ia booming. Not in North America, necessarily, but "you can't keep fur in stock in Russia," says furrier Greg Tinder. "The higher the price tag you put on it, the faster it sells."
Tinder, who left Saks Fifth Avenue to start his own label, says the East has always been a furrier's dream — think big, plushy Soviet-era hats. But now, with Russia's economy on the rise, there's some new money on the block, and designers know that.
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Alan Herscovici with the Fur Council of Canada says upwardly mobile consumers in China and Korea, as well as in Russia, are driving the market.
"The fur sales that are the strongest now are not necessarily your grandmother's old mink coat," says Herscovici. "Rather, it's the bunny cuffs and coyote fur ruffs that helped grow the retail fur industry to [$15.5 billion] last year — 45 percent more than sales 10 years ago."
http://www.npr.org/2013/12/19/255319621/russian-market-fuels-comeback-of-north-american-fur-market