by Truth About Fur
Jane Avery is a couture designer from Dunedin, New Zealand, known for her bespoke garments combining exotic fabrics with wild rabbit fur. Her label is Lapin (French for rabbit), and her ethos is “eco-couture”, reflecting the fact that rabbits are a major pest in her part of the world. Now she has launched a new label, Lapin ReVintage, which is all about repairing, restyling and repurposing vintage fur. Since so little has been written about this niche market, Truth About Fur set out to learn more.
Truth About Fur: Are Lapin and ReVintage two separate lines, or do they dovetail together?
Jane Avery: They are both meaningful to me in their own ways, but they sit comfortably together. For example, when I receive a ReVintage commission, I may be repairing the garment in its original form, or I may be taking parts of the fur and incorporating them into a new Lapin ReVintage design. There’s enough fur in a vintage cape or stole to make a collar and cuffs for a coat of merino wool, Indian silk or another beautiful textile.
Prolonging the life of any garment is good for the environment, just as using the fur of pests is. So it’s all “eco-couture”.