The Top Lot that started a journey
Sitting near the top of a Beijing office tower, Markus Boer has a good view over modern China, looking out onto Beijing’s bustling fashion district West of the city centre.
Lit by crystal chandeliers, racks and racks of pink and silver metallic puffy jackets, reversible fur bombers, and other styles line the lilac-panelled walls awaiting shipment in what one would call a meeting room if it wasn’t better decorated than many Copenhagen apartments.
A little over ten years ago, Boer took his first study trip to China to learn about the import export business, bringing along with him a passion for tailoring and clothes.
“I was making clothes for myself and people around me said, ‘Wow, I’d like to have that,’ he says. That, along with meeting his future wife, kickstarted what has become one of Beijing’s most well-known boutique women’s fashion brands, Qiqi Furs.
But the connection to fur arrived by chance.
“I had bought a fur coat for my wife as a birthday present. We left it hanging in our shop window when we went out to dinner because we didn’t want the coat to smell oily... in one hour ten people asked about the coat, and we thought, hey we need to start selling fur coats,” he recounted.
“It all started with one fur coat, and now five years later it has gone crazy.”
But that explosive growth also depended on using quality materials that could show off his wife Qiqi Tang’s elegant designs.
Quality materials for quality design
“We create fashion…but we need to know and make sure that the quality we use is perfect…and we find that in Kopenhagen Fur,” Boer says.
That desire to provide something unique and special led the couple to travel to Copenhagen seeking a mink Top Lot, where they won a bundle of Silverblue Cross Mink.
But the trip was rewarding in other ways as well, winning a Top Lot gave him the chance to work with our in-house experts at Kopenhagen Fur Studio.
“You see so many new things, it’s mind-blowing,” Boer said. “I went back to Beijing and we made a whole new collection within a week just purely on the inspiration I got from Kopenhagen Fur.”
Peace of mind
An equal part of buying a Top Lot for Boer was getting peace of mind. Getting to see all of the aspects of an auction at Kopenhagen Fur, even visiting a fur farm.
“I had never been to a real fur farm in Denmark, so I didn’t know what really was happening until I came there and saw how peaceful it is.”
He was so impressed from his talks with the farmer that he made a promotional film out of the farm visit. For Qiqi furs, buying a Top Lot was a way to give their VIP customers peace of mind.
“There is so much misinformation and miscommunication,” he says. “I wanted to show our clients and customers that it is so peaceful and these animals are treated so well.”
For Boer, knowing that fur is sourced sustainably is an equal part of what makes for a high-quality material along with excellent physical characteristics.
“We make fashion. Every year we make new coats, new designs. We just want to make sure that the quality of the fur is amazing, and we find that in Kopenhagen Fur.”