Luxury designers Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga announce fur-free policies
PARIS—Iconic
British fashion houses Alexander McQueen and luxury Spanish designer Balenciaga
are the latest Kering-owned brands to announce fur-free policies. Humane
Society International and the Humane Society of the United States have been
working with Kering, and its brands, for more than a decade on adopting a
fur-free policy. McQueen and Balenciaga are the latest to join a rapidly
expanding group of fashion designers dropping fur, including Prada, Gucci,
Armani, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, DKNY, Burberry and Chanel.
The fur-free announcement was made in Kering’s 2020
Universal Registration document , which reads “Most of the Group’s Houses
do not use fur. For example, Gucci is part of the Fur Free Retailer program
promoted by NGO Fur Free Alliance, and has banned the use of furs across its
entire range since its Spring/Summer 2018 collections. Gucci is also committed
to no longer using angora. Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and MCQ also no longer
use fur in their collections.”
Gucci previously announced its fur-free policy in
2017, and according to Bottega Veneta, they’ve been fur-free for nearly 20
years. Only Kering’s Saint Laurent and Brioni have yet to announce fur-free
policies.
Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the
United States and CEO of Humane Society International, said, “Every time a big
fashion name like Alexander McQueen or Balenciaga goes fur-free, it sends a
clear message that fur has no place in a modern society. This is a statement
that consumers care more about sustainable solutions than the fur trim on a bag
or a coat. We look forward to continuing our work with Kering, and the rest of
the industry, to ensure that humane and innovative materials are the future of
fashion.”
This announcement comes as several cities, states and even
entire countries look to ban fur sales. In 2019, California became the first US
state to ban furs sales, after several of its cities—including Los Angeles and
San Francisco— passed similar legislation. Lawmakers in several other US states
have already introduced fur sales bans in 2021, and in the United Kingdom,
which banned fur production in 2003, the government is now considering calls
for the UK to become the first country to ban fur sales.
* This article was originally published here
No comments