Fur designer Adrienne Landau believes New Yorkers should wear fur — a lot of it. “Fur should be worn every-where, from the Upper East Side to the Lower East Side,” says the long-time designer and New Yorker. It’s been 30 years since the Hell’s Kitchen resident gave up fine art to become a furrier. Since then, her eponymous business has boomed — and her furs are regularly spotted on fashionistas like Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj. This is Landau’s furry New York.
1. Libra Leather, 259 W. 30th St., near Eighth Avenue
“I love looking around the Garment District and the little quirky shops. At Libra Leather there’s crocodile, all sorts of leather. A lot of my pieces have Libra leather in them.”
2. Lincoln Center, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza
“I love the opulence of getting dressed for the ballet or the opera. I first started going when I started my business. I got a call from [Italian director] Franco Zeffirelli. He said, ‘I like your things. I want to buy some Christmas gifts.’ We became great friends. He would buy the most extravagant pieces: velvet-trimmed capes, fox-trimmed shawls. And every year he would invite me to the opera so every time I go, I think of him and wear a big stole.”
3. Levenson Furs, 345 Seventh Ave., between 29th and 30th streets
“I’ve worked with them for years. They pick up, they clean, they store and they repair. The worst thing you can do to your furs is send them to a dry cleaner. You have to keep all the oils in the fur and that requires special cleaning machines. If you have air conditioning, you can keep them in your closet. But it’s a good idea to get them into cold storage.”
4. Antiques Garage Flea Market, 112 W. 25th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues
“I’m a flea-market freak. I’ll get up at 6 a.m. on Saturday morning and go to the Antiques Garage and Hell’s Kitchen flea market. I see a lot: different fabrics, shapes that inspire me. When I buy furniture, I’ll re-cover it in leopard or zebra. I buy chairs, and lamps that don’t work. I like mid-century modern furniture. My house looks like a furniture showroom.”
5. Brasserie Pushkin, (temporarily closed for renovations) 41 W. 57th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues
“It’s like being in a palace. Tuna tartare is my favorite, and I’ll get the blintzes or the borscht sometimes. I wear something really opulent, like a jewel-encrusted fur or a colored fur.”
6. Ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue, between 49th and 50th streets
“I love ice skating. I go two or three times each season and I have my own fur-trimmed skates. I throw on all my furs. I feel like [I’m in] ‘Doctor Zhivago.’ I have to have a glass of champagne before. Then I can go shopping at Saks afterwards.”
7. Albright Fashion Library, 62 Cooper Square, at Seventh Street
“Irene Albright’s closet is this big library of clothing. There’s every piece of couture, every contemporary piece. It’s amazing. You have all the clothing, a shoe closet. She rents to magazines and celebrities, so if I have to go couture, I go there.”
FOUR WAYS TO WEAR FUR FOR 2013
* Start with any piece you fall in love with. “This shouldn’t be something for special occasions, but everyday life, a scarf or a little cropped fur jacket that you can wear all season long. Love it and wear it often.”
* Get a vest: “We sell more fur vests than anything at the moment. It can be an affordable option that you will have forever. Wear it over a leather jacket or mix it with another fur — a scarf or fabulous hat.”
* Invest in some color. “This year we’re doing jewel-tone furs and furs that are denim-colored.”
* Go faux. “I do some faux fur for my A by Adrienne Landau line on HSN. Sometimes it even fools me!”