Animal fur has been used by humans as clothing since the earliest times as protection from climatic conditions and harm. Furs is popular because of it's warmth, durability, and it is also a major status symbol, from Hollywood celebrities to socialites fur has become symbolic of luxury.  In European societies luxury furs became associated with social stratification. The world has developed a love for fashion furs and it is used as a way of expressing social status as much as it is used to protect the body from the cold weather.

French fashion designers such as Jeanne Paquin and Paul Poiret were some of the first to use a lot of fur in their collections. In the 1930’s designers started using fur as trim for coats, collars and cuffs. According to Lee (2003), the biggest names in fashion have experimented with different types of fur. Recent designers started experiment with different types of fur: Miuccia Prada, tippet and racoon; Albert Ferretti, hamster (euwww); Narciso Rodriguez, fox, Galliano, chinchilla; Marc Jacob, mink, and Gaultier, sable. Today current designers such as Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs, Hugo Boss Women’s, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vera Wang, Fall 2011, and more are using fur in their collections.

Learn more about the history of fur at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fur_clothing