Over the past six months, the catwalks of New York, London and Milan fashion weeks have been filled with animal skins of all description. Fur coats made an appearance at last week in New York at Isaac Mizrahi, last season Karl Lagerfeld covered motorbike helmets with mink and chinchilla while Dolce & Gabbana added bright pink fur sleeves to jackets.

The American fashion press all agreed: Never had they seen so much fur at a New York Fashion Week.

And they were right. No less than 54 out of the approx. 70 designers that showcased their fashion collections in New York last week had included fur on the catwalks - on hats, collars, dresses, boots, purses, etc.

As The New York magazine wrote: "It's a fur day, it's a fur week... A season of lots of furs and skins."

In November, French Vogue included a 12-page story entitled "Fur Play" featuring Brazilian supermodel Raquel Zimmermann in a flurry of fur and tribal-themed leopard print, and where once celebrities were wary of walking out in a fur-trimmed jacket for fear of being drenched in red paint by animal rights activists, now there seems to be no such stigma.

Keira Knightley recently attended an awards ceremony in a black karakul lambskin coat, and Jennifer Lopez has worn an array of mink and chinchilla at red carpet events over the years. Madonna, Eva Longoria, Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss and Lindsay Lohan have all worn fur in public.

"Fur has never been more popular," says a spokesman for Origin Assured, an initiative developed by the International Fur Trade Federation that states that it sources "ethical" fur.

"From 1998 to 2008 there has been year-on-year growth in global sales for fur. People now are more comfortable showing their love of fur.

"The younger generation seems to be saying: 'We'll make up our own minds', and part of that has its core in the rise of hip-hop culture. It's also to do with the fact that young designers are featuring fur in their collections."

The shifting tide of public opinion is reflected in the figures. In 2007, fur sales worldwide totalled 10 billion ($22 billion), up 11 per cent on the previous year, with nine years of continuous growth. Last year, the fur trade contributed 13 billion to the global economy.

Fur Industry Resource Center