Luxury Fashion House Kering Bans Fur Across All Its Brands Including Gucci and Saint Laurent
The luxury fashion conglomerate has banned the use of animal fur across all of its brands by fall 2022.
Kering, the luxury fashion company behind some of the biggest names in fashion, including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, and Brioni, has vowed to go completely fur-free, starting from its fall 2022 collections.
The company joins the growing list of fashion houses listening to the increased consumer demand for sustainable, ethical, animal-free clothing.
"The time has now come," said Kering CEO and Chairman, François-Henri Pinault, in a statement. "The world has changed, along with our clients, and luxury naturally needs to adapt to that."
"When it comes to animal welfare, our Group has always demonstrated its willingness to improve practices within its own supply chain and the luxury sector in general," he added.
The decision comes four years after Gucci became the first Kering fashion house to announce it would ditch fur, noting social responsibility to animals and the environment. Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, and Balenciaga have since followed, leaving Saint Laurent and Brioni as the last of Kering’s brands to use fur.
Campaigners say that this move will be a “significant blow” to the global fur trade responsible for the slaughter of more than 100 million animals each year, including coyote, mink, raccoon dog, and chinchilla.
“The future is clearly fur-free and now one of the world’s largest luxury fashion conglomerates agrees,” said the Humane Society of the United States. “The announcement is a significant blow to the declining fur trade and puts pressure on the few remaining fashion brands that continue to sell fur to follow suit.”
Calls for animal-free fashion continue to grow. Earlier this month, musician Billie Eilish took the issue to the Met Gala. The musician encouraged Oscar de la Renta to ban fur from their collections. The fur ban was a condition set by Eilish - her team had told the fashion house that she doesn’t work with brands in the fur business.
On Instagram, Eilish wrote: "I am beyond thrilled that the entire team heard me on this issue, and have now made a change that makes an impact for the greater good, not only for animals but also for our planet and environment too.
"I urge all designers to do the same," she said.
In recent years, other fashion houses have also dropped fur from their collections, including Nordstrom, Prada, Burberry, and Canada Goose.
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