Sakina Abdallah
Top brands such as Versace, Michael Kors and Gucci and many more made a big decision recently that their companies will be going fur-free as of the release of their new collections or some brands even sooner.
getting to know these brands
Luxury brands like these have a big impact and influence on society as a whole. Their clothing and accessories are liked, used and worn by many people all around the world. Making a decision like this is drastic and will have an impact on the overall animal abuse rates all around the world.
BRANDS THAT ARE ON BOARD AND THEIR REASONING
More than 10 brands are on page with the no-fur policy going forth in all of their collections. Brands such as; Prada, Burberry, Versace, Gucci, Michael Kors, Armani, Tom Ford, Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.
Donatella Versace states, “Fur? I am out of that. I don’t want to kill animals to make fashion. It doesn’t feel right,” (The Economist’s 1843 magazine) Reportedly, there are still fur products for sale on the website. Back in 2007 when Versace was still using fur in their clothing and products, PETA ran protests and disruptions during their releases. These disruptions helped in the long run as Versace announcing going fur-free will save a big percentage of animals that are hunted and used for their fur.
During an interview with The Business of Fashion (BoF), Chief Executive and President Marco Bizzarri of Gucci stated, “Do you think using furs today is still modern? I don’t think it’s still modern and that’s the reason why we decided not to do that. It’s a little bit out-dated,”
Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren have been setting the mood and paving the path for the other luxury brands since 2007 when they hopped off the bandwagon for using fur in their clothing.
Prada has also announced their transition into fur-free merchandise with a professional tweet:
https://twitter.com/Prada/status/1131183113818841088/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1131183113818841088&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fbusiness-48370370
Statistics
In one year, more than 1 Billion Rabbits and 50 million other animals are killed solely for their pelts and anything that is considered ‘precious’ or ‘valuable’ in the fashion industry. This number can be drastically dropped by these large luxury companies setting themselves as a model by completely getting rid of fur and animal products in their clothing items.
Over 4 million animals are killed in Canada alone for the use of their fur. Most of these animals can be found in fur farms and small cages, where they are confined to suffer physically. Not all of these animals can be found here, some animals are hunted down brutally by using traps such as the leg-hold traps. These are banned in 90 countries but unfortunately still used in Canada to this day.
impacts luxury brands and celebrities can have
Luxury brands and celebrities have one thing in common, a major influence on people all around the world. From social media to advertisements to Reality TV Shows, celebrities and luxury brands have countless ways of reaching everyone. Brands such as Prada and Gucci announcing that they will in-fact be going fur-free on all of their social media platforms, including interviews with the CEO’s. Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian announcing on her snapchat story saying, “Hey guys, these nails only mean I’m here in Vegas to see Cher. I have blue nails, this coat is faux fur. That’s my new thing, faux.” Kim made sure to emphasize that she is transitioning out of the culture of wearing fur.
These announcements will have a big impact on the world as society always places celebrities and high end clothing on a pedestal. We value their opinions and outlooks on certain issues in the world as most of us believe that celebrities choices and opinions are always correct. This gives me reason to believe that people who follow these luxury brands or celebrities that have announced going fur-free will agree with their decisions thus, leading to a downfall in animal cruelty and abuse in the fashion industry.
Concluding thoughts
All in all, I believe that these companies are taking a major stand and are realizing that what they were doing in the past was wrong. Society will applaud them for their decisions made on this topic and will continue to support and benefit their company.
Citations
https://www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/fur/fur-trade-facts
https://people.com/style/fur-free-luxury-fashion-brands/
ANIMAL CRUELTY IN THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY
Why 2019 Will Spell the Death of the Fur Industry
https://www.lcanimal.org/index.php/campaigns/fur/fur-trade-facts
fashion & social change 
Really awesome blog post Sakina, I enjoyed your take and analysis of using real animal fur in the fashion industry. You gave some great insight and shed some light on the luxury brands that do or don’t use fur and what influences these brands and consumers to opt for faux fur instead. I liked that your article was divvied up and it transitioned well from one point to the next. I wish your post included more visuals, possibly of the brands or their products because it is harder to read a large chunk of text one after another, but including a video is very creative. Good job, yay!!!
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