TikTok’s ‘mob wives’ trend is fueling a resurgence of fur

But then owner Paul Matsumoto connected with Natalie Bloomingdale, founder and CEO of vintage e-tailer The Sil, and the two teamed up to host an online auction of pre-owned coats from Edwards-Lowell Furs’ on The Sil’s Instagram.

“We sold the first batch of furs in a matter of minutes,” said Bloomingdale. The two now host sales three times a month, and Matsumoto said it’s breathed new life into the business.

This year may bring even more demand due to the explosion of the “mob wives” aesthetic on TikTok. Characterized by animal prints, heavy gold jewelry, glossy leather trousers, perfectly coiffed hair and a massive fur coat, the trend has already racked up over 160 million views on the platform. Its emergence has been fueled by several factors — the 25th anniversary of HBO’s mafia-centric hit “The Sopranos,” the onset of a colder winter, and a burgeoning interest in fur among younger consumers.It’s quite a pivot from just a few years ago, when it appeared fur’s trajectory was on an unstoppable decline. Since the late 2010s, brands and retailers including Canada Goose, Gucci, Net-a-Porter, Versace, Prada, Neiman Marcus and Michael Kors all announced their intention to phase out fur products. In 2021, Israel became the first country in the world to enact a ban on new fur sales, while Italy and Norway announced they would stop fur farming. In 2021, Kering chief executive François-Henri Pinault said that fur had “no place in luxury.”