What’s a luxury fashion designer to do when you have the current environmental crisis on one hand, and adamant PETA members on the other? Why, design eco-friendly fur coats of course!

Japanese designer Chie Imai did just that during her 2008-2009 Royal Chie Collection fashion show. With the help of daughter Chiaki, Imai’s show held last October 28 was attended by some pretty heavy names including Spike Lee and Tonya Lee Lewis, Ivanka Trump and her brother Donald Trump with his wife Vanessa and daughter Kai Madison and model Irina Pantaeva.

Chie Imai has been designing fur coats for almost 16 years now. She combines only the finest chinchilla fur from Finland with a recycled fabric made from used polyester manufactured by Japanese chemical company Teijin Ltd.

2005 saw a partnership form between Teijin and Patagonia. They used polyester linings of their coats to make a recycled fabric for Patagonia’s line.

With Royal Chie, however, it is the first time that such a fabric is used to make a luxury product.

Imai’s vision was to create a luxury product that is innovative yet addresses her customers’ desire to join the "green" movement. She also wanted to showcase the fabric’s beauty and ingenuity – it is both breathable and waterproof.

The finished products are furs that attest to the designer’s creative and inventive spirit, both aesthetically and technologically. The collection features Teijin’s fabrics in bold jewel tones such as teal, crimson and mustard, intermingled with fur trims and embellishments.

Though fur coats still seem eco-unfriendly, the designer points out that they are investment pieces that are passed down from generation to generation. And with some recycled polyester included… well, perhaps the PETA people will go easy on you.

Image source: Fashion Wire Daily