Breaking News: Armani Goes Fur-Free
Increasingly, we are beginning to see fashion brands and designers disassociating themselves from animal cruelty and switching to cruelty-free alternatives that are indistinguishable from the real thing. Photo by iStockphoto
Luxury designer Giorgio Armani today announced that all of his labels will go 100 percent fur-free, marking a historic day for the fashion industry and making a case that it’s no longer necessary for any clothing retailer to use real fur when we have perfectly suitable alternatives.
Armani, one of the world’s best known fashion designers who is credited with pioneering red-carpet fashion, committed to the policy after working with The HSUS and the Fur Free Alliance, a coalition of 40 animal protection organizations in 28 countries working to end the fur trade. Starting this fall, all garments in the Armani Group’s collections will be fur-free.
“Technological progress made over the years allows us to have valid alternatives at our disposal that render the use of cruel practices unnecessary as regards animals,” Mr. Armani said in a statement. ”My company is now taking a major step ahead, reflecting our attention to the critical issues of protecting and caring for the environment and animals.”
I had the honor of meeting with Mr. Armani in 2009 to discuss the company’s use of fur. It was obvious then that the presence of fur in some of his lines weighed heavily on his conscience. I knew then that Mr. Armani cared deeply about animals and it would be just a matter of time before he directed the switch to fur-free alternatives.
He was dealing with the industry-wide assumption within the fashion industry that fur equates to luxury. That was always a questionable assumption, since you can buy strips of raccoon dog or fox fur for as little as $5 apiece or less. In fact, top quality faux fur can cost more. The quality of faux fur these days is exceptional and comes with no moral problems.
The announcement from Armani comes a year after Hugo Boss’s fur-free announcement. Increasingly, we are beginning to see brands and designers like Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Stella McCartney, and Ralph Lauren disassociating themselves from animal cruelty and switching to cruelty-free alternatives that are indistinguishable from the real thing. Mr. Armani’s leadership makes it clear that designers can achieve luxury and creative freedom without real animal fur.
Please join me on Facebook and/or Twitter to thank Armani for acknowledging that there is no place for cruelty in today’s world.
By changing from animal to faux fur, Mr. Armani has proven to be a leader in having an elegance of spirit that matches his elegance in fashion. Thank you to The HSUS and the Fur Free alliance for educating us all about the need to end this cruel industry and opening doors to create jobs through the production of cruelty-free clothing materials that do not also create monsters of both children and adults who need those jobs. It’s the humane economy in action.
Thank you Armani. There is no justification for using fur in today’s world.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH AND GOD BLESS YOU.
Bravo #Armani
Thank you.Your designs will still be as beautiful as ever. Even more so.
ThanThank.Your designs will still be as beautiful as ever. And now, even more so.
Thank You, Armani. Hope you inspire other Fashion Designers to follow your Lead.
Thank You Armani. Hope you inspire other Fashion Designers to follow your lead.
Yeah that’s is all nice and stuff but they will still be using leather so until that stops he really isn’t animal friendly.
I love this news! I wish this transformation wasn’t taking so long. Haven’t we evolved past killing and torturing other creatures for fashion???
Now, if we could just get people to realize that leather is the same as fur. And no, it isn’t just a byproduct of the beef industry and is sometimes from dogs in China.
Now if they would only go leather free also.
Excellent! How anyone can wear fur is beyond me and it takes celebrities and major fashion designers to set a positive example!
wisdomfromthegalaxy.com
Great start, what about leather, wool, cashmere.. just as cruel if not more.
I don’t really care either way, but it does seem rather hypocritical that everyone is so happy about the “no more fur” deal, but seriously, folks, what about all the LEATHER items they sell? What do you think leather is? Many of the descriptions are quite blatant such as “calf skin.”
Hi Robert,
I totally get what you’re saying and appreciate you love for animals.
Just so you understand the distinction in many peoples eyes; leather is a by product of the food industry. Cattle are raised for food and their hides are used to make leather. While you can argue that no animals should be killed for man’s use, I think most of us realize that we are not going to stop people from eating meat, so we are OK with using the hides. On the other hand, animals that are raised for fur are not usually a primary source of food for anyone, and the conditions in which they are raised and the methods used to kill them are deplorable. Fur is a frivolity and an antiquated symbol of success. Now it’s just a symbol of ignorance and insensitivity towards living things.
Mr. Armani, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!