Does Yves Salomon Use Real Fur? Furmark, Sourcing and Fur-Free Line

Yes. Yves Salomon uses real fur, including mink, fox and rabbit, and has done since the family began trading furs before 1920. The house says its furs come from farms selected for animal welfare and environmental standards, offers Furmark-certified traceable pieces and signed the Resource Pact in January 2020. It also makes Météo, a line it describes as 100% fur-free.

Key facts

• Real fur: Yves Salomon works in real fur. The house names sable, chinchilla, lynx, Blackglama mink and fox among its materials.
• Sourcing claim: the house says its furs “come from farms selected according to strict standards of animal welfare and environmental sustainability”.
• Furmark: a traceability label from the International Fur Federation; the house says certified pieces carry a unique code from farm to boutique.
• Resource Pact: signed in January 2020; the house says it covers reduced fur production, traceability, animal welfare and endangered species.
• Fur-free line: Météo, described by the house as 100% fur-free, in wool and lambskin.
• Coveti’s new delivery: of 435 new Yves Salomon pieces, 197 include fox, mink and rabbit fur in some form; 238 contain none.

Is Yves Salomon fur real?

Yes. Yves Salomon is a furrier’s house before it is anything else, and real fur runs through the collection. On Coveti the composition line of every product names the species: “100% Mink” on a long-haired mink coat, “100% Fox” on a fox scarf, “100% Rex Rabbit” on a pair of earmuffs. The house does not sell faux fur in the pieces we carry. Where a piece looks like fur but is not, the name says so, as with the Toscana Lamb Fur-Effect Sleeveless Gilet, which is lambskin shearling worked to look like fur.

The real fur appears in three ways. Some pieces are fur all through, like a mink coat. Many use fur as a trim, typically fox on a parka hood, a mink collar on a wool coat, rabbit at a cuff. And a growing group of pieces makes the fur removable: detachable fox and mink collars clip off, so the same coat can be worn with and without.

What is Furmark, and what does it certify?

Furmark is a certification and traceability programme from the International Fur Federation, the fur trade’s own body. According to Yves Salomon, a Furmark-certified piece carries a unique code that traces the fur from the farm to the boutique, and the pelts are dressed and dyed by SafeFur-approved companies. The house runs a dedicated “Furmark certified” collection on its own site.

Two points are worth being clear about. First, Furmark is not on every Yves Salomon piece; it applies to the pieces in that certified collection. Second, Furmark is an industry scheme, run by the trade it certifies. We found no independent audit of Yves Salomon’s use of it, so we present it as the house presents it: a traceability claim from the brand and the fur federation. If certification matters to your decision, ask for the Furmark code on the specific piece before you buy.

What did Yves Salomon sign in 2020?

In January 2020 the house signed what it calls the Resource Pact. In its own words, the commitments cover reduced fur production, traceability, animal welfare and the protection of endangered species. The house has not published progress figures against the pact that we could find, so we cannot tell you how much production has fallen. What we can say is that a large share of the current range uses no fur at all, which fits the direction it describes.

Which Yves Salomon pieces are fur-free?

The house’s own fur-free line is Météo, made in wool and lambskin. Beyond that, Coveti’s new delivery includes 238 pieces with no fox, mink and rabbit, and they fall into clear groups:

• Wool and cashmere coats: double-faced wool and herringbone coats, capes and jackets trimmed only in smooth leather.
• Knitwear: merino jumpers, cashmere crew necks and funnel necks, cardigans and wide-leg knit trousers.
• Down: waterproof technical down jackets trimmed in lambskin rather than fox and mink, such as the short and long styles with an airy lambswool trim.
• Shearling: Toscana, Merino and Lacon lambskin coats and jackets, many of them reversible.
• Leather: lambskin trousers, skirts, shirts and the short fine lambskin jacket.
• Feathers: short feather jackets and a cropped feather gilet.

Be careful with the word “fur-free”. The house uses it for Météo, which includes lambskin shearling, so by its definition shearling is not fur. Shearling is sheepskin tanned with the wool left on, and it generally comes from sheep raised for meat. If you want no animal hair at all, choose the wool, cashmere and knit pieces, and read the composition line, because some knit and wool pieces carry a mink pocket, a fox collar and a lambskin trim. Our shearling coats guide explains the grades.

Real vs fake fur: how to tell the difference

Most of the confusion around real fur coats comes from good faux fur, which can look convincing at a glance. These checks work on any coat, not just Yves Salomon:

1. Part the hair and look at the base. Real fur grows from skin, so you will see leather at the root. Faux fur is knitted into a fabric backing, so you will see a woven grid of threads.
2. Look at the tips. Real guard hairs taper to a fine point. Faux fibres are cut, so the ends are blunt.
3. Feel the layers. Real mink and fox have two layers: long guard hairs over dense, soft underfur. Faux fur usually has one even layer.
4. Blow into it. Real fur parts easily and moves in rings. Faux fur tends to stay stiff.
5. Read the label. In the EU, textile products with real fur trim must state that they contain non-textile parts of animal origin, and US law requires fur products to name the animal and the country of origin. On Coveti, the composition line names the species.

Avoid the burn test you will find recommended elsewhere. It works, because singed real hair smells like burnt hair while synthetic fibre melts into hard beads, but it damages the piece and is never worth the risk on a coat you might return.

Real fur coats at Yves Salomon: what to expect

If you are shopping for a real fur coat, Yves Salomon covers the full range, and the price tracks how much fur is involved. Fur accessories start low: rex rabbit earmuffs from $340. Fox-trimmed parkas and down jackets sit in the low thousands. Full mink jackets begin above $11,000, and long-haired mink maxi coats reach $38,050. The guide to the mink and fur coats explains the pelts, and how to care for fur and shearling covers storage, which matters more than most buyers expect. The house itself offers summer fur storage in Paris.

Fur-free and real fur Yves Salomon pieces to consider

1. Extra Long Toscana Lambskin Shearling Coat

No fox, no mink: Toscana lambskin shearling from collar to hem. The warmest fur-free piece in the delivery. From $8,030.

2. Herringbone Double-Sided Wool Coat

Double-sided wool with silk-lined sleeves and a smooth leather trim. No animal hair beyond the wool. From $3,740.

3. Oversized Double-Faced Wool Cashmere Coat

Wool and cashmere with lambskin leather at the hems. A fur-free coat with the house’s weight and drape. From $4,060.

4. Long Waterproof Down Jacket with Lambskin Hood Trim

Waterproof technical fabric and duck down, with lambskin at the hood instead of fox. From $2,310.

5. Short Fine Lambskin Leather Jacket

Smooth lambskin leather with no fur collar. A clean leather jacket from a furrier’s workshop. From $4,060.

6. Cashmere Knit Crew Neck Sweater

100% cashmere, nothing else. The plainest answer for anyone avoiding fur entirely. From $2,300.

7. Cashmere Knit Balaclava

All the warmth of a fur hat in pure cashmere. From $410.

8. Long Mink Fur Coat with Long Hair

Real fur at its fullest: long-haired mink set vertically on a 130 cm belted coat. From $34,240.

9. Fox Fur Scarf

100% fox. A real fur piece at a fraction of a coat’s price. From $1,680.

10. Rex Rabbit Fur Earmuffs

The entry point to real fur at Yves Salomon, in five colours. From $340.

Frequently asked questions

Does Yves Salomon use real fur?

Yes. Yves Salomon uses real fur, including mink, fox and rabbit, and the house names sable, chinchilla, lynx and Blackglama mink among its materials. It says its furs come from farms selected for animal welfare and environmental standards. Many pieces in the range, such as wool coats, knitwear and shearling, contain no fur.

Is Yves Salomon fur ethical?

That is a personal judgement, and we would rather give you the facts than a verdict. Yves Salomon says it sources from farms chosen for welfare and environmental standards, signed the Resource Pact in January 2020 and sells Furmark-certified traceable pieces. Furmark is a fur-industry scheme, and we found no independent audit of the house’s claims.

What is Yves Salomon Furmark certification?

Furmark is a traceability label from the International Fur Federation. Yves Salomon says certified pieces carry a unique code that follows the fur from farm to boutique, with pelts dressed and dyed by SafeFur-approved companies. It applies only to the pieces in the house’s Furmark-certified collection, not to the whole range.

Does Yves Salomon make faux fur?

We do not carry Yves Salomon faux fur. The house’s fur-free answer is Météo, which it describes as 100% fur-free in wool and lambskin, and pieces such as the Toscana lamb fur-effect gilet, which use shearling worked to look like fur rather than synthetic fibre.

Is Yves Salomon shearling real fur?

Shearling is real sheepskin with the wool left on, so it is an animal material, but Yves Salomon does not class it as fur. The house describes its Météo line, which uses lambskin, as fur-free. Toscana, Merino and Mongolian lamb are among the sheepskins it names.

How can I tell if an Yves Salomon coat is real fur?

Read the composition. Yves Salomon labels name the species, such as 100% Mink and 100% Fox, and Coveti lists the same on every product page. On any coat, part the hair: real fur grows from leather, while faux fur sits on a woven fabric backing with blunt-cut fibres.

For the family story behind the fur, read who is Yves Salomon, then compare pieces in the fur accessories guide, and shop the full range on the Yves Salomon brand page.