DATE: Wednesday, November 12, 1997          TAG: 9711120057

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ERIC SUNDQUIST, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   32 lines

LOCAL OPINION OF FUR COMEBACK VARIES

IN HAMPTON ROADS, two organizations are concerned with fur, and they couldn't see things more differently.

Lowenthal Furriers, a local fur merchant since 1955, is enjoying an upsurge in business. President Hugh Vaughan reports that sales were up 5 percent in 1996, and this year promises to be even better.

``Everything comes and goes in fashion, and the trend is on the upside for fur, and for luxury in general,'' he says.

Baby boomers, many enjoying high earnings and low living expenses, are fueling the boom, he says. But younger women are buying as well.

Also contributing, he says, is a public backlash against the ``terrorism'' of animal-rights advocates.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, headquartered in Norfolk, is the nation's most prominent animal-rights group. PETA disputes industry assertions that the public has become more comfortable with fur.

Spokeswoman Lisa Lange cites increases in donations to her group - the 1997 budget grew to $13.9 million from $11.2 million the year before - and a steady membership of about 500,000. In Hampton Roads, she says, membership rose from 2,038 to 2,560 since the group moved to Norfolk in 1996.

Naomi Campbell notwithstanding, she says, many celebrities are calling PETA to work against fur. PETA last week launched a new ad with Pamela Anderson Lee.

``Fur is not back, fur shouldn't come back, and it won't,'' Lange says. ``People believe animals should not be fashion victims.''

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