Fashion weeks in Amsterdam, Oslo, Melbourne and Helsinki have all banned the use of fur, but in Paris, Milan and New York this is still left to the discretion of fashion houses. However, more and more brands are choosing to swap real fur for faux fur in their collections.
Where is the trend coming from?
Anti-fur activism can be traced back to the mid-1980s. In 1985, two activist groups, Trans Species Unlimited (TSU) and the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT), coordinated the first nonviolent acts of civil disobedience against fur outside Macy’s stores in both New York and Sacramento, California.
The following year, TSU’s George Cave and Cres Vellucci repeated the promotions on the busiest day of the year, ‘Black Friday’, and ‘Fur-Free Friday’ was officially established and has been held every year since.
Stella McCartney was a pioneer
Stella McCartney established herself as a pioneer in sustainable fashion. Since founding her company in 2001, McCartney has been designing collections that do entirely without leather or fur. But it wasn’t until 2015 that she felt comfortable using fur alternatives.
“Modern faux fur looks so much like real fur that the moment it leaves the studio, no one can tell it’s not real,” McCartney once told the newspaper The Guardians. “And I had a hard time with that. But I’ve been talking to younger women about it lately and they don’t even want real fur. So I have a feeling maybe things have evolved and it’s about time we can make fabrics that look like fur if we just use them right.”
Big brands no longer use animal fur
E-commerce giants Net-a-Porter and Farfetch have both pledged to stop selling real fur by 2018. Following this decision, Chanel joined the long list of brands going fur-free – including Gucci, Burberry and Versace – and also announced that it would no longer use real fur. In the same year, after several meetings with PETA, Michael Kors announced that it would completely stop using animal fur.
Givenchy’s faux fur coats took the spotlight at the house’s AW18 show. Designer Claire Waight Keller perfected the realistic look of couture fur coats by taking inspiration from the label’s archives from the ’80s, when the house was still under the helm of Hubert de Givenchy.
Starting with Gucci in 2017, most fashion brands owned by French luxury group Kering, including Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and Alexander McQueen, had already phased out the use of fur. Saint Laurent and Brioni were the only ones who continued to use it occasionally. But last year, Kering announced that all of its brands will phase out the use of animal fur with the FW22 collections, due to be shown in early 2022.
House of Fluff
Kym Canter founded House of Fluff in 2017 with the goal of offering faux fur pieces that are far more desirable than real fur.
“We want to make the choice between beauty and morality for you by creating fashion products that are cruelty-free and that make you feel as good on the inside as you look on the outside. These unique products will not only keep you warm but also make you look cool. While we care about the ethics, we also love the look.”
Knowing that most animal-free furs contain non-biodegradable fibers such as polyester and acrylic, Canter aimed to offer animal-free fur products that did not contain any synthetic materials. In recent years, House of Fur has developed a number of plant-based fabrics, including Biofur, a collection of plant-based and recycled textiles that naturally degrade or can be fully machine-recycled.
“Our plan for the future is to transform House of Fluff into a brand that only uses the most bio-efficient textiles on the market and reinforce our belief as an innovation studio making advances in the discovery of animal-free, sustainable textiles. We don’t want any product we make to contribute to the plastic pollution problem,” says Canter.
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ.