In a Profession Under Fire, an Old-Time Furrier Thrives By Saving Vintage Fur Coats
Rafaello Furs in Chelsea is run by a second-generation furrier. Also a custom cobbler, owner Rafael Allayev finds satisfaction, and a brisk trade, in redesigning shoes and vintage coats.
| 15 Jan 2025 | 11:35
There’s always a steady hum of customers coming to Rafaello Furs. Most customers to the shop which has been at the same West 30th Street location since 1994, are interested in restoring their vintage furs. (
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While the sign above the door says “Rafaello Furs,” the proprietor, Rafael Allayev, has a special affinity for shoes. He learned the cobbler trade from his father, growing up in Tajikistan. (
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Winter took its time to pull the mercury down to properly frigid levels, but now that temperatures seem to have hit their infernal stride, it calls for warmer, cozier and more substantial apparel.
As such, walking past the small storefront on West 30th Street for Rafaello Furs just became all the more attractive. Filled to the brim with mink, sable and chinchilla (his favorite), there remains room only for the proprietor, Rafael Allayev, and the customer with whom he is working, of which there always seems to be a steady flow.
Allayev started off not in furs but in the cobbling trade, learning from his father, Khanan Allayev, as a youth in Tajikistan. The elder Allayev, now age 94, was an expert cobbler, which is how his son began his own craftsmanship. He still gets advice from his dad, although his father is no longer practicing the art, proudly proclaiming himself “real cobbler . . . no joke!” But while the junior Allayev began with shoes back in Tajikistan, he branched out into furs and outerwear when he moved to Moscow, motivated by the extreme cold.
Since then, he has become quite a notable presence in the garment district with his own shop since 1994. He has evolved with his customer, focusing now more on rehabilitation and redesign of garments and footwear, rather than selling new creations, but is capable and worthy of both. With this strategy, much of the disdain for furs is avoided, in that he deals with vintage pieces and salvaging heirlooms.
His favorite task, however, is still the shoes, the apple falling not far from the tree. He specializes in custom shoes for problem feet, and can completely reimagine a shoe into something both wearable and appealing to its owner. In fact, he highlighted his favorite project of all time for me: a redesigned Dior bootie, taking it from its scuffed, dated, squared-off pointy toe to a sassy, contemporary rounded silhouette, improving the look of the shoe exponentially. The client was thrilled, to say the least.
Much of the business fluctuates with the season, though, so now is high time for furs and outerwear. Liz Khalevich, a teller at a nearby TD Bank, came across Allayev by chance, and is now a repeat customer. They discussed the details of the fur she was having remade in their native Russian, but Khalevich confided that it not just their shared heritage: “He is fast and good,” she boasted, and has only been happy with the results. As soon as she left, another client came in to pick up her commissioned jacket; the store is almost always humming.
And these are just the day-to-day layperson customers: Allayev caters to a celebrity clientele as well. He has worked with 50 Cent, Marc Anthony, Busta Rhymes, Lil’ Kim, Britney Spears, but he is reluctant to drop names. His work speaks for itself, he says, and he doesn’t need star-studded endorsements to float his ego. In fact, he often works with A-List clients without even recognizing them until after the fact.
Any current contempt for furs or animal products has for the most part left Allayev unscathed. Animal activists “don’t come” to bother him, he says adding, “they don’t affect me.”
To his point, as well, there has been a pivot focusing more scrutiny on the deleterious effects of microplastics, synthetics and faux fibers that are polluting oceans and killing coral reefs, so he feels relatively insulated.
Allayev also makes bags, belts and wallets, some of which are repurposed from scrap pelts or remnants from redesigns. But his favorite thing is still the practice that started it all with his father, cobbling. And it’s a good move for him, for while fur might be surging now in the wintry depths of February, shoes are a year-round prospect.
RAFAELLO FURS
204 W. 30th St.