Yay! Gucci, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen ad YSL Say NO to Animal Fur

Kering Group—the fashion luxury conglomerate behind Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga— has banned the use of animal fur across all of its brands by fall 2022, citing ethical and modernity reasons. 

"The time has now come," said Kering CEO and Chairman, François-Henri Pinault, in a short statement issued on Friday. "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 noted.

“Going entirely fur-free is just the right thing to do. We do it out of conviction, for the sake of ethics and modernity.”

In 2017, Gucci became the first Kering fashion house to commit to eliminating fur from their designs, highlighting social responsibility as one of the brand's core values. Their other brands including Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Bottega Veneta are also well on the way to moving away from fur. 

 Earlier this month, Met Gala co-chair Billie Eilish worked out a fur-free pledge with American brand Oscar de la Renta in exchange for sporting their designs on the red carpet.

 

"I am beyond thrilled that the entire (Oscar de la Renta) 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," wrote Billie on Instagram. 

The fashion houses of Chanel and Prada too, have announced a departure from the use of fur in 2018 and 2019 respectively. By doing so, brands are proving that we don’t need to do away with the luxurious look and feel of fur, it’s just the cruelty aspect of it that needs to go. there is a world of fabulous faux-fur options open to you, that look—and feel—just as fabulous as the real thing, or even more so, given the fact that is cruelty-free.