She was the ultimate mafia woman, dripping in diamonds and jewellery, dressed in a succession of cheetah prints, leather trousers and fur coats, with perfectly coiffed hair.
But even though 25 years have passed since the hit TV show The Sopranos launched, Carmela, the wife of mob boss Tony Soprano, is now inspiring a new fashion craze – with her look racking up more than 127 million views on social media app TikTok.
“Clean girl is out, the era of mafia women has arrived,” declared New York influencer Kayla Trivieri, who was the first to continue the trend and has 234,000 followers on the platform.
Carmela (pictured), wife of mafia boss Tony Soprano, is now inspiring a new fashion craze
Model Chrissy Teigen posts her own gangster woman look on Instagram
Model Kendall Jenner, 28, shows off three real and faux fur coats, including a black and brown striped Phoebe Philo coat, which cost a whopping £21,000
“Starbucks and black puffers are out. We wear vintage fur all winter long.
‘We are already seeing the cheetah prints, the sparkle, the glitter, the glamour, the fur, the big hair. This is just an atmosphere. Carmela Soprano walked so you bitches could run.”
The trend has made such a wave that even The Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola posted about it on Instagram, writing, “I hear the ‘mobwife aesthetic’ is making a comeback…”
Videos on TikTok under the hashtag “mobwife” include lessons on how to look like a mobster’s mole, tutorials on mob makeup, hair and manicures, and users vintage shopping for fur coats.
However, it’s not just TikTok that’s driving a fur resurgence: in the 2022 film House of Gucci, Lady Gaga, who played socialite and convicted criminal Patrizia Reggiani, wore chinchilla, fox and mink, while stars like Dua Lipa and Kendall Jenner embraced both real and faux fur.
Just before Christmas, singer Ms Lipa, 28, threw on a £430 black faux fur coat from Entire Studios over a sheer maxi dress from Gucci to attend a star-studded screening of Greta Gerwig’s film Barbie, in New York.
MOB MENTALITY: Influencer Olivia Jade poses in a fur coat that looks like The Sopranos
Tony Soprano played by James Gandolfini and his on-screen wife Carmella, played by Edie Falco
The singer made her film debut as Mermaid Barbie in the hit.
And while celebrating the holidays with Hailey and Justin Bieber in Aspen, Colorado, model Ms. Jenner, 28, showed off three real and faux fur coats, including a black and brown striped Phoebe Philo coat, which cost a staggering price. £21,000; a Balenciaga faux fur camel coat, which sold for £4,700; and a white hairy trench.
While brands like Gucci, Prada and Versace all announced plans to phase out real fur by the turn of the millennium, designers Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana are still promoting real fur and have both debuted fur coats for the men’s Fall/Winter 2024 season .
However, there is also a trend towards vintage, second-hand and faux fur, instead of the real McCoy. One of the most popular pieces, according to Trendalytics, is a faux fur jacket from Zara, which has seen a 213 percent increase in searches and social buzz.
A fashion trend that you really cannot refuse
by Alexandra Shulman, former editor of Vogue
Gone from quiet luxury to all your understated chic – we are in the full-blown era of the mafia woman. And what a delight for those who never really understood the appeal of navy blue 8-ply cashmere and simple black trousers.
This weekend I hosted a vintage fashion sale for charity, with several pieces of real fur donated. I wasn’t sure if there would be any buyers in this anti-fur era, but one of our first sales was a fantastic white fur coat that Victoria Gotti – the daughter of the ruthless Gambino crime family boss John Gotti – could have owned in her prime. adorn.
Fur, as long as it is vintage or faux and not new, is one of the biggest trends right now. The mafia wife look is unapologetically flashy and serves as an impeccable style guide in the 25th anniversary year of The Sopranos.
Drea de Matteo as Adriana provides a one-stop template in all her tawny manes and animal prints. Another source of inspiration is Lorraine Bracco as mafia wife Karen in Goodfellas: gold earrings, tiger print, black leather, big – no, huge – hair, red claw nails, heavy black eyes and fur with all the right touches.
Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco star in the 1990 mafia classic Goodfellas
The mafia-woman look is the antidote to years of minimalist chic and the stealth-wealth style that gave brands such as the Olsen twins’ ultra-expensive The Row and Italy’s Loro Piana pole position.
It is easy to adopt cheaply on the high street and vintage shops. The appeal is that it’s fun, easy to tap into and provides support in these uncertain times. Moreover, heavy makeup is the opposite of the clean beauty approach of recent years.
Many women have been flaunting their mafia credentials for years. Cosmetic queen Charlotte Tilbury – who claims her husband has never seen her, even in bed, without eye make-up – leads the team, followed by Kate Moss who has been embracing sexy black and leopard print for years. Lauren Sanchez, the inamorata of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, would feel at home at any gangster gathering with her inky black hair and her penchant for revealing outfits.
Animal print pants, cat-eye sunglasses, skinny high heels and an Elnett-powered toupee hairstyle are all you need. And throw away those trainers.
Although the last two accessories are less easy to buy: …a husband with a pinky ring and gold chains… and a terrifying mother-in-law.
