Though fur has been banned for years, now-a-days many designers have re-launched the fabric on runway. However, they still hesitate to talk about it openly.
Fendi showcased its ‘haute fourrure’ collection during the Paris haute couture shows, other than that designers like Michael Kors, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Jeremy Scott of Moschino have also turned fur into a prominent fabric over the course of recent time.
Notably, around 73 percent of this year’s 436 shows in New York, Paris, Milan and London featured fur.
Robert Burke, founder of the luxury consultancy in New York bearing his name, said that fur had always been a hot-button issue in fashion, and now more than ever because consumers have the ability to research and decide whether they want to be a fashionista or stick with ethics.
Another designer Jason Wu shared that fur wasn’t a political statement and was just another material, like wool or silk that acts like a canvas for a designer’s imagination.
Fur has now become an all-season fabric with the help of advanced techniques like dyeing, shaving and shearing for altering texture.
On the other hand, senior vice president for media campaigns at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Dan Mathews said that fur trade focuses on young designers like PETA focuses on young consumers, and it has become a tug of war that has been going on for years, which is why it’s still visible on runways and not much in retail.
The fur industry has also helped to promote greater transparency in sourcing, a concept of Truth in Fur Labeling Act by US President Barack Obama in 2010, which requires that each fur piece, regardless of cost, specify its species and country of origin.
Notably, Kim Kardashian, who has a fondness for mink coats, was flour-bombed by a woman at a perfume introduction where the lady allegedly shouted at the reality star calling her a ‘Fur hag!’.
