Many people love chasing fashion, and some even follow trends blindly, buying whatever’s in vogue at the moment. Over the past few years, mink coats—commonly referred to as fur—have been all the rage in Northeast China. Some individuals, even with monthly salaries of just a few thousand yuan, would save up to splurge on a mink coat, believing it would boost their social standing. In the cold winter months, many find down jackets bulky and cumbersome, while mink coats not only convey status but also feel more comfortable to wear, making fur garments highly sought after.

In recent years, if someone walked down the street wearing a mink coat, it would have given people the impression of being a nouveau riche. But as incomes have risen, buying fur has become much more accessible, and people no longer see wearing mink as particularly impressive. We know that mink coats are generally quite expensive—even the more affordable ones cost around 8,000 to 9,000 yuan, while the pricier ones can run into tens of thousands or even over a hundred thousand yuan—but that hasn’t stopped consumers from wanting to look their best. Still, in recent years, we’ve noticed that fewer and fewer people are wearing mink coats in winter. So what’s behind this shift?

During the fur‑fashion boom of a few years ago, major department stores were packed with shoppers; even a mink coat priced at over ten thousand yuan would draw long lines, and fur merchants reaped hefty profits. But today, those bustling scenes have vanished, replaced by stark emptiness. Many store owners lament that business is now extremely tough: once they made money hand over fist, but now they’re grateful just to break even each day. As a result, they’ve begun slashing prices—mink coats that once sold for 20,000 yuan are now discounted to 9,000 yuan—but still fail to attract much interest. Meanwhile, mink‑coat manufacturers have been closing one after another; in 2019 alone, thousands of factories shuttered. The decline of both fur retailers and production facilities has dealt a severe blow to the breeding industry: many farmers have abandoned mink farming altogether, pivoting to other sectors. With unsold pelts piling up, some are forced to sell below cost just to cut their losses.

Once hailed as a “status symbol” by many, mink coats are now met with such indifference that fur prices have plummeted, plunging the fur market into a deep slump.

In fact, in the past, people bought mink coats mainly to enhance their social standing. But once they brought one home, they’d find they could hardly wear it more than a few times during an entire winter, and over time, it gradually came to seem unnecessary. So, have you ever purchased a fur coat?