The Girl Who’ll Get You Over Your Fear Of Faux Fur

Warning: you will want an orange coat after reading this… Photographs by Luke & Nik

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by Pandora Sykes |
Published on

You might think of faux fur as being the fodder of Sienna Miller: The Boho years, or perhaps you associate it with your mum’s ancient dog walking coat. Maybe you love it, but have emerged once too often from an impromptu drenching like sodden roadkill, or if you like it with a funky twist, a drenched Care-Bear. Let’s face it, faux fur doesn’t exactly have the best reputation.

Luckily for us, and you, Shrimps is here to revolutionise our feelings on fur. A brand new British label from super hot designer, Hannah Weiland, Shrimps was born after Weiland spotted a gap in the market, upon graduating from a degree in History of Art and finishing a spell at London College of Fashion. The titular Shrimps is Hannah herself, and the coats are all oversized luxe fake fur in popping colours – think Picasso blue, pink, acid orange and tan. Although the Shrimps line only runs as far as coat and matching clutch, fans include Queen Bey herself, Funky Offish style icon Julia Sarr Jamois and model Laura Bailey. So The Debrief decided it was time get the low down from the ridiculously talented Weiland, who turned out to be just as fun as her fake fur coats themselves.

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**DB: Have you always dreamed of designing in fake fur? **

HW: I love animals, so I don’t wear fur, but I found it so hard to find decent faux fur. When my mum’s friend, who is a childrenswear designer, told me about a factory where the faux fur is made from acrylic, which makes it super soft, rather than 100% polyester, I just went for it. I only got my first samples in July last year…

DB: And it’s all snowballed, or should we say furballed, from there. We’ve seen your coats everywhere.

HW: They’re very noticeable! It’s surreal. I wanted to pair two unexpected things together; bright colour and faux fur.

DB: Unexpected in a major way. Can anyone wear one?

HW: Everyone can wear Shrimps! Including me 90-year-old nana. The people I most want to impress are her and Grayson Perry – I named my clutch bag after him. I sent him one but I haven’t heard back yet! My nana looks great in them though and even my friends who don’t wear much colour like to rock them. They’ll wear an all-black outfit and a bright blue Wilma coat.

**DB: There’s very much a British sense of humour in the colourways you use and more than a nod to the swinging '60s. **

HW: I love the fun in British fashion. My favourite designers are British – Simone Rocha, Christopher Kane and Ashley Williams. That said, I also love Acne, Fendi and Prada – they have such a strong brand signature. I’m not a massive fan of black but I am making a navy coat with white stripes that will be exclusive for Net-A-Porter. I’d love to collaborate with someone and make faux fur sunglasses for the catwalk…

DB: Do you wear a different Wilma every day of the week?

HW: I’ve only let myself keep one! Although I sometimes wear my samples and then freak out about getting them dirty. The camel Wilma is the most popular, but my favourite is the orange one from my exclusive with Opening Ceremony [which also features a blue coat]. I get stopped every time I wear mine. The New York store rung me up the other day to tell me that they had sold out, which is awesome.

**DB: Ok, we’re officially sold. But we still need a bit of persuading on the price? **

HW: Well, faux fur is actually better than real fur, as it doesn’t molt, it doesn’t smell and it holds its colour well, as well as being ethical. So, it’s actually a better investment than real fur. I’m going to introduce some more accessories. I want people to be able to buy into the brand, if they can’t afford a coat.

**DB: That's super interesting. Is faux fur the only material you’ll work with? **

HW: I’ve sort of found my niche, so my first few collections will be predominantly faux fur. I’ve had a lot of re-orders and it’s sold out, which is really amazing. My SS14 collection features lighter faux fur, for summer, but I will also be using mohair. I’m not against using leather and my new clutch bags have leather trims and printed linings.

DB: Wow it sounds amazing. Will we be seeing you at London Fashion Week?

HW: I’m making a film instead, to screen over LFW. I’m hoping to sign up a big name for it and Julia Sarr-Jamois will be styling it. So wait and see!

 
 

Camel Faux Fur Wilma Coat and Blue Faux Fur Pallet Coat, £495 each, Orange Faux Fur Grayson Clutch, £195.

Hannah's exclusive collection for Net-a-Porter will be available from March.

Follow Pandora on Twitter @pinsykes

This article originally appeared on The Debrief.

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