Not Pillbox Hats or Capes—the Rich Accessory Trend People With Taste Will Wear This Winter

Like clockwork, come early winter, certain staples start to appear in every city across the world—chief among them being anything adorned with fur. We first saw this accessory trend gain notoriety in the fashion world in the 1960s thanks to designers like Karl Lagerfeld, who coined the term “fun fur” while working at Fendi. Since then, we’ve seen furry accessories in every form become a favored choice with the fashion crowd once temperatures become too frigid to wear lighter textiles. Although no one would say this specific accessory is particularly avant-garde, it always exudes an air of wealth and sophistication; hence its enduring appeal every season among everyone from celebrities to Upper East Siders. But what’s made furry accessories even more captivating over the last couple of seasons is how many have surfaced in recent runway collections. From Fendi to Ferragamo, we’ve seen countless examples of luxury fashion houses showcasing furry accessories, ranging from statement coats and shoes to stoles and even shoulder bags.

The overwhelming presence of all things fuzzy has pushed fashion people to question, “Has fur really made a full comeback?” The answer to that question is somewhat complicated, as we’ve seen a growing divide online over whether it’s eco-friendlier and more ethical to wear plastic-based alternatives or to opt for vintage fur. Wherever one stands on the matter, it’s clear that this cold-weather accessory trend will remain a steadfast part of the conversation, and likely our closets, for the foreseeable future. But if you’re dubious about the return of fur accessories to the chat, let us convince you why this “controversial” trend is what stylish people will choose to wear this winter. Ahead, we’ve rounded up examples of this trend on the runway and in the wild. Plus, we’ve included a curation of the best shearling, faux-fur, and even pony-hair pieces to buy for the season. Trust that these accessories can make even the most anti-fur people have a few fuzzy feelings.

On the Runway

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Given the timeless nature of this cold-weather textile, it’s sort of a given that we’d see fur outerwear surface in fall collections. But beyond coats, the clearest indication that this trend has genuinely taken off can be found in all the fur trimmings—or, in layman’s terms, all the extra bits and bobs that aren’t necessarily as evergreen but still fun accessories. It was as if no item was immune from the furry treatment in the F/W collections: scarves, handbags, shoes, hats, bag charms, the list goes on.

But it wasn’t so much the wide embrace of atypical fur accessories that really sold this trend’s comeback so much as the styling itself, which leaned excessively maximalist in a way that screamed wealth rather than whispered it. That ethos was embodied in quite a few fall collections, including, most notably, Miu Miu, where the femininity was dialed up to the max through styling. The rigid silhouettes of traditional tailoring were softened when a structured tailored coat wasn’t just styled over silk underpinnings but adorned with a furry stole around the arm.

Similarly, at Fendi, we saw fur scarves styled with fashion, not function, top of mind. A model sauntered down Fendi’s runway wearing a sheer lace blouse styled with a matching pencil skirt and a fur scarf dragging behind her—inadvertently saying to onlookers, “I’m so wealthy that I can get away with wearing nothing in the winter.” Even beyond fur stoles, we saw other fashion houses, including Chloé and Michael Kors, use fur accessories merely for decoration. The ateliers gave the trend a bohemian twist through styling runway looks with a slew of ’70s-inspired floppy fur hats and foxtail bag charms. It wasn’t just furry trimmings that seemed to surface across fall collections; fur handbags were everywhere too.

Although it might be easy to attribute the return of this specific accessory trend to rising nostalgia for the ’90s, it would be a mistake to see fur handbags as merely a visual indication of arrested development among the masses. Sure, we all love a handbag trend that evokes childlike joy—hello, look at the rise of Labubus—but the truth is we’ve seen designers take this “juvenile” trend and make it feel grown up. That’s no more apparent than in Fendi’s F/W 25 runway presentation, where the brand’s signature structured Peekaboo and Spy handbags were covered in supple fur and shearing. The visual contrast between the collection’s clean-cut tailoring and the fur bags created a tension that could only be described as sultry.

But it wasn’t just Fendi that seemed to master this dichotomy well, as we saw brands such as Ashlyn and N21 draw attention to their tailoring by pairing sculpted tops made from leather and cashmere with small furry clutches. Similarly, at Tod’s, Gucci, and Michael Kors’s fall shows, rigid silhouettes felt looser with the addition of slouchy hobo bags covered in shaggy shearling. While all of these runway shows seemed aimed at proving that this “frivolous” trend can feel grown up, others leaned into the idea of “fun fur” through footwear. Frankly, there’s no better indication that designers have backed this trend again than incorporating fur into their collections from head to toe, quite literally.

While we’ve seen fur-adorned shoes surface in fashion history before, after all, there was a time when every starlet could be spotted by paparazzi wearing fur-trimmed Ugg boots. The first indication that this trend would be “tamer” than the version that dominated the aughts could be found in the F/W 24 and S/S 26 collections of Carven, Bottega Veneta, and Ferragamo: Classic shoe shapes were made contemporary with the addition of shaggy fur or allover feathers. However, it’s not the sheer number of furry shoes that has made this trend stand out among fashion insiders so much as the way they’ve been styled in recent shows. We’ve seen recent collections show that this once “cliché” and sometimes even “quirky” shoe trend could look sophisticated when styled in unconventional ways.

One prime example of this was Sacai’s fall show, in which a chunky cable-knit sweater was haphazardly styled over a white shirtdress and paired with a slouchy hobo bag and shearling ballet flats—creating an air of controlled chaos that’s downright chic. Whether at Sacai or Simone Rocha, runway shows seemed to challenge the notion that you had to adopt minimalist-leaning accessories to achieve an air of wealth (sorry, pillbox hats and capes). You don’t need to embrace quiet luxury to look good; in fact, you can look like you’ve left your Upper East Side penthouse simply by adopting a maximalist stance, or in this case, just some form of a furry accessory.

In the Wild

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If you’re still largely unconvinced that fur has fully made a comeback, then look no further than the embrace of this accessory trend by the fashion set during fashion month. From Copenhagen to New York, we’ve seen stylish women donning every type of fur accessory in the last couple of months. Although each city showcased its own approach to this trend, the common thread across time zones seemed to be that fur accessories are meant to be worn with your winter staples—not just for special occasions or snowstorms. For those residing in Paris, that meant taking styling notes from Miu Miu by pairing oversize suede and leather outerwear with more “feminine” pieces, including fur stoles and shag-covered bags. While in Milan, we saw the fashion crowd use fur to “soften” structured leather separates, such as trousers and topcoats.

No matter the city, it was made clear that there’s really no wrong way to wear this trend this winter. But should you still be on the fence about whether or not fur-covered accessories are “pragmatic” for your own life, let us leave you with some parting wisdom: You can’t spell functional without fun. The return of fur-adorned accessories in full force on the runway and in real life is a reminder that you can look fabulously wealthy, dress appropriately for frigid weather, and most importantly, still have fun with your fashion choices.

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