Who Is Yves Salomon? The Paris House Behind the Shearling Parka

Yves Salomon is a Paris fur and outerwear house run by one family for four generations. According to the house, Grégory Salomon started the family fur business in Russia between 1910 and 1920, and the family emigrated to France in 1920, where he became one of the main Paris furriers. Maison Yves Salomon, the brand named after the third generation, was born in 1980. For more choice, browse our full edit of luxury women’s clothing. See every house we carry in the Coveti designer index.

Key facts

• Founder of the fur business: Grégory (Gregory) Salomon, described by the house as a Russian dissident exiled in Siberia, who began working in fur between 1910 and 1920.
• Paris: the Salomon family emigrated to France in 1920.
• Second generation: Boris Salomon took over the business and later became president of the international fur federation, according to the house.
• 1960: the house set up a creation workshop. 1980: Maison Yves Salomon was born.
• Fourth generation: Thomas Salomon joined the house in 2000.
• Signature lines: the Army collection (launched 2005) and Météo, a line the house describes as 100% fur-free, in wool and lambskin.
• Sourcing: the house signed the Resource Pact in January 2020 and offers Furmark-certified pieces.
• Stores: three in Paris, one in London and one in Aspen.

Who founded Yves Salomon?

The short answer is Grégory Salomon, although the name on the label belongs to his descendant. The house tells its own story as a family chronicle. Grégory, a Russian dissident who had been exiled in Siberia, started trading in fur in the decade before 1920. That year the family emigrated to France. In Paris he built the business into one of the city’s main furriers.

So when people ask who founded Yves Salomon, there are two honest answers. The family fur trade was founded by Grégory. The fashion house called Maison Yves Salomon was founded in 1980, under the name of Yves Salomon, the third generation. Both dates matter, because the second could not exist without the first.

Yves Salomon history: four generations in one timeline

The house history is short on dates and long on continuity, so here is everything it confirms, in order. We have left out anything we could not check against the house’s own account.

One correction to the way this story is often told, including in an earlier version of this page. The house describes Thomas Salomon as the fourth generation who joined in 2000. It does not, in its own history, spell out his relationship to Yves, so we describe him here simply as the fourth generation of the family.

What changed in 1980?

For decades the Salomons worked as furriers in the traditional sense, cutting and finishing pelts for their clients. The creation workshop that followed in 1960 began to move the family towards design. In 1980 the house gave that work its own name, and Maison Yves Salomon was born.

That shift explains most of what you see on the rails today. A furrier thinks about one material. A fashion house has to think about a whole wardrobe. Over the following decades the Yves Salomon range widened from fur coats into shearling, leather, down, knitwear and trousers, but the fur workshop stayed at the centre. You can still see it in the detail: collars that unclip, reversible pieces finished on both faces, mink set into knitwear, shearling that is combed, curled and straightened to different effects.

What are the Army and Météo lines?

Two collections carry most of the modern Yves Salomon identity. The Army collection launched in 2005. The house built it from vintage military parkas, reworked for city life, and it is the line most shoppers picture when they hear the name: a cotton parka with a fur hood trim, cut short and boxy, longer and belted, sometimes with a shearling bib. In the current delivery the Short Cotton Parka with Fox and Rabbit Fur and the ultra-light short down jacket are both labelled as part of the YS Army Collection. Our Army parka guide covers the lengths and trims in detail.

Météo is the second line, and it is often misdescribed as a down collection. The house describes Météo as 100% fur-free, made in wool and lambskin. It is the answer for anyone who likes the Yves Salomon cut and the warmth of shearling but does not want fox, mink and rabbit. The house has not published a launch year for it, so we do not give one.

Does Yves Salomon still use real fur?

Yes. Real fur is still central to the house, from full mink coats to fox collars and rabbit trims. What has changed is how the house talks about sourcing. It signed the Resource Pact in January 2020, which it says commits it to reduced fur production, traceability, animal welfare and the protection of endangered species. It also sells Furmark-certified pieces, which the house says carry a traceability code from farm to boutique. Not every piece is Furmark certified; the house runs a dedicated collection of the ones that are. We set out the detail, and how to tell real fur from faux, in Does Yves Salomon use real fur?

Where is Yves Salomon sold?

The house runs three stores in Paris, at 24 rue de Sevres, 245 rue Saint-Honore and 36 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, plus a store in London and one at 200 S Mill St in Aspen. Alongside the shops it offers made-to-measure, summer storage for furs and a workshop that re-cuts older fur pieces into new shapes, which is a practical answer for a coat that may outlast its first owner’s taste.

Online, Coveti carries the women’s collection on the Yves Salomon brand page, with sizes converted to UK and worldwide delivery by DHL Express and FedEx International Priority. Duties are usually payable on import. For fit, see our Yves Salomon size guide.

What is Yves Salomon known for today?

Outerwear first. The range runs from a mink coat at the top to shearling, down and wool coats, and the house cuts all of them with a furrier’s eye for warmth and weight. Shearling comes in named grades the house lists by name, including Toscana, Merino and Mongolian lamb. Down jackets are often cut in technical fabrics, and some use Loro Piana cashmere and flannel. Accessories, from earmuffs to an ushanka, use the offcuts and skills of the same workshop.

The look is restrained rather than flashy. Most pieces come in camel, brown, beige, black and green, and the fur tends to sit at the collar, the hood and the cuff rather than across the whole body. That is why the house sits comfortably beside The Row, Khaite and Brunello Cucinelli on Coveti; we compare them in brands like Yves Salomon.

Yves Salomon pieces that tell the story

1. Long Iconic Parka with Fox and Rabbit Fur

The house’s own word for it is iconic. Waterproof cotton blend, a fur-trimmed hood and the military lines that started the Army story in 2005. From $3,040.

2. Short Cotton Parka with Fox and Rabbit Fur

A short, boxy YS Army Collection parka that can be worn cinched at the waist. The easiest way into the line. From $2,630.

3. Maxi Belted Coat in Long-Haired Mink Fur

The furrier’s piece: thick long-haired mink falling to the ankle on a 130 cm coat. This is what the family has made for a century. From $31,060.

4. Reversible Belted Coat in Toscana Lambskin

Toscana lamb is one of the shearling grades the house names. Reversible, belted and fur-free by the house’s definition. From $5,740.

5. Short Toscana Lambskin Jacket

A short shearling jacket in five colours, including white and pink. A lighter introduction to the shearling side of the house. From $4,060.

6. Reversible Water-Repellent Jacket with Mink Fur

Technical fabric on one side, mink on the other. It shows the modern house at its most inventive. From $12,040.

7. Belted Cashmere Wool Coat with Fox Fur Collar

A wool and cashmere coat with fox at the collar and lapels: the classic Paris winter coat, with the fur kept where it frames the face. From $4,850.

8. Fox Fur Ushanka Hat

The Russian hat shape, in fox with a lambskin leather trim. A small nod to where the family story began. From $1,960.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Yves Salomon?

The family fur business was founded by Grégory (Gregory) Salomon, who, according to the house, began working in fur between 1910 and 1920 and emigrated to France with his family in 1920. The fashion house, Maison Yves Salomon, was born in 1980 and carries the name of Yves Salomon, the third generation of the family.

When was Yves Salomon founded?

There are two dates. The Salomon family fur business dates from between 1910 and 1920 and moved to Paris in 1920. The house says Maison Yves Salomon, the brand as shoppers know it, was born in 1980. Both are part of one continuous family history.

Is Yves Salomon a French brand?

Yes. Yves Salomon is a Paris house. The family settled in France in 1920, the brand was born in Paris in 1980, and the house runs three stores in the city, at rue de Sevres, rue Saint-Honore and rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, as well as stores in London and Aspen.

Who runs Yves Salomon now?

The house is still a family business. Thomas Salomon, the fourth generation, joined in 2000. The house has not published a current title for him on its history page, so we describe him simply as the fourth generation working in the family house.

What is the Yves Salomon Army collection?

Army is the parka line Yves Salomon launched in 2005. The house built it from vintage military parkas reworked for the city, usually in waterproof cotton with fox and rabbit fur at the hood. Short boxy parkas and ultra-light down jackets in the current delivery are labelled YS Army Collection.

Is Yves Salomon Meteo a down line?

No. The house describes Météo as a 100% fur-free line made in wool and lambskin. It is aimed at shoppers who want Yves Salomon warmth and cut without fox, mink and rabbit. The house has not published a launch year for the line.

See the full collection on the Yves Salomon brand page, read Does Yves Salomon use real fur? for sourcing, and browse our mink and fur coat guide for the house’s signature pieces.