Dunedin designer Jane Avery makes clothing out of wild rabbit fur and she's on a mission to take her label to the world.
She showed her collection of coats at last month's iD Dunedin Fashion Week.
Speaking to RNZ’s Wallace Chapman, Avery says she has been sewing since she was a child.
It was something she had wanted to do for many years, but says it was a matter of finding the right time and the right concept.
She was made aware of the problem the rabbit population poses for New Zealand during her time working as a reporter during the 1990s, when she says the rabbit population in the high country was exploding.
“I think that’s when the seed was planted for me.
“I love clothes and I’ve always made my own clothes and I came up with the idea of combining fabric with fur and it’s what I believe to be a fresh concept for fur.”
Rabbits were released in New Zealand by English settlers for food and sport and in a bid to make the country more like ‘mother England’, she says.
“It’s caused economic devastation ever since.”
Avery wants New Zealand rabbit fur to be recognised as a viable luxury fur choice.
She has been sourcing her rabbit skins from a tanner based in Invercargill, but has recently come across a full-time rabbiter who operates near the property she and her husband own near Alexandra.
While there is a lot of possum fur used in the New Zealand market, she says rabbit fur is less established, but is a beautiful product.
“If you get it at the right time of year when the rabbits have their winter fur, it doesn’t shed.
“We’ve got a lot of it, let’s use it.”
Under her label Lapin, which is French for rabbit, Avery makes bomber jackets and bespoke coats.
“I’ve got 15 coats to date, they’re one of a kind… they’re unique for want of a better word.”
The rabbit fur is combined with fabric to make the final product.
A lot of Avery’s philosophy is about practicality, particularly using fur to keep warm.
“I like to have fur on the shoulders, on the sleeve caps, on the collar, so it’s being used in a practical sense and also in a very beautiful sense.”
She says the difference between rabbit fur and other furs used overseas is that it can be classed as an eco-fur.
“It’s an ethical alternative because it’s being sourced from a wild resource that is a pest resource.
“Many people will steer clear of fur because they believe it to be unethical and exploitive of animals, and in many cases that may well be true, but the New Zealand context… is that rabbits are a dreadful pest.
She has not received any criticism of her fur garments.
“They need to be controlled and gotten rid of, and believe me when the last one’s gone I’ll be quite happy to be done and move on to something else.”
While there’s not a lot of fur worn in New Zealand, Avery says people often opt for fake fur, which is not biodegradable.
She says there’s been a resurgence in the international fur trade, which is worth $40 billion, and believes it’s a good time to be getting her ethical, sustainable fur into the international consciousness.
And it’s the international market’s attention Avery hopes to get, as she doesn’t believe there’s a big or rich enough market in New Zealand.
