Fur Special: The fur debate

There was a time when the way to display status and wealth was with a mink coat. But what do today's fashionable young women really think? A fur trader and a leading actress give their personal views

PRO: LAURA PHILLIPS, Fur trader

"Fur has always been a good idea; a lot of people have been wearing it for years. What's interesting now is that the young have started to wear it because lots of designers have suddenly decided the look is glamorous. Whether you like it or not, fur is glamorous. I think women are looking for new ways of looking luxurious, and it's not the formal look anymore – the dinner gown and the formal suit. It's having clothes that are a little bit edgy, something a little bit different, like a cashmere sweater trimmed with fur.

I think a lot of it has come not just from fashion, it's right across the visual arts. If you think of Damien Hirst, Sam Taylor-Wood and Tracey Emin, they use animals in their art and it's created a whole new interest in things that aren't quite politically correct. I think that's all come onto the catwalk. That's why Alexander McQueen and John Galliano have been extreme in what they've shown on the catwalk, and it's all filtered through to little denim jackets with fur collars and cuffs. The customers we see are young women who know all the arguments about fur and they are tired of being pushed around by vegetarians. They are buying their own things and wearing them with pleasure.

The stuff the antis put out is very emotive. You have to bear in mind that these people are against using animals in anything. They are anti leather and anti eating meat. But the people who are interested in wearing fur have satisfied themselves on the arguments.

We still get demonstrators outside. At the moment they are quite busy because there are so many shops in Oxford Street and Regent Street that are selling fur and fur trims and they are hard pressed to find the numbers to demonstrate against everyone. We've been having demonstrations for years now and we're used to it. We are completely relaxed about what we sell. We know we sell farmed animals, not endangered species. We sell mink, fox and shearling [a very fine, soft version of sheepskin]. That seems to be OK to the antis, but I don't know where they think the lamb has come from. We probably sell more shearing than we do fur. We sell fashion. Sheared mink is the new thing, it's very lightweight and soft.

Fur makes you feel feminine, special. It's beautifully warm. The argument that we don't need it in this country – that there's a lot of synthetic things to wear – is perfectly correct. We also don't need to eat meat. Because someone else doesn't want to, it doesn't mean we shouldn't be allowed to."

ANTI: GINA BELLMAN, Actress

"I'm not a fanatic, but I think it is unevolved of people in this era to be wearing fur. When I see photos of Marlene Dietrich and other icons from the past wearing it, I don't find the images offensive. But in those days people didn't have the same kind of social concerns that we do. On that note, I think that you have to be realistic in terms of environment, because fur as clothing is functional in certain societies and I don't disapprove of that: if you're working in the Arctic, you want to have the warmest coat that you can get your hands on. But in terms of me, my life and choices, I'd definitely decide not to wear fur, personally or professionally.

These days you can make fake fur so realistic – I'm no expert, but I've often looked at things in shops and not been able to tell the difference. I don't see why you should wear 50 dead animals when someone can make you a fashionable coat or jacket out of fake fur that's just as convincing. People have that choice nowadays.

Fur is purely an ostentatious display of wealth; there's no other reason to wear it in our climate. I disapprove of that in any guise, whether it's cars, jewellery, or furs. It makes me feel sick to walk down Bond Street and see someone stepping out of a £100,000 car wearing a £50,000 coat when obviously there's so much that these people could give to a worthy cause.

The animals being bred for their coats are in really awful conditions and don't have any kind of a life at all. I dislike fur both because of the cruelty to animals and because of the kind of social statement that it makes. It's absolutely disgusting how mink are raised just for some idiot to look fashionable and rich. I found out more about fur through friends and people I respect: I think it helps when people such as Chrissie Hynde are promoting the issue.

Fur is incredibly Eighties. It is really sad that we seem to be having a throw-back period that's all about wealth and display and in-your-face celebrity that says 'I'm different from everybody else'. I resent that. These people are role models.

When you meet teenagers today they're really up on these issues and they've got strong opinions on them. Is Gisele Bundchen wearing fur going to influence a 17-year-old who worships her? No. Eventually it won't work in Gisele's favour. It just doesn't paint a very sympathetic picture of her. This is a bad choice by the fashionistas, who think young people are going to see fur as sexy. I don't think it's sexy at all."

Interviews by Julia Stuart and Clare Dwyer Hogg