Versace and Paul Smith have become the latest fashion brands to ban the use of kangaroo skin in their designs amid mounting pressure from animal rights groups.
WATCH BELOW: Bella, Gigi, Kaia, Imaan, Adut And Tyra Just Formed The Ultimate Girl Band
Versace was the first to make the historic move after LAV urged the Italian fashion house to eschew the tradition. According to the animal rights group, more than 2.3 million kangaroos in Australia were killed last year for commercial purposes.
“We have been corresponding with Versace over email and they confirmed that in 2019 they stopped using kangaroo skin,” Simone Pavesi, a representative for LAV, said.
“We welcome this as a sign of responsibility, today more than ever. The fires that are devastating Australia add to the massacres of hunting, with dramatic consequences for the kangaroo population.”
The announcement comes almost two years after Versace banned the use of real fur in its collections.
RELATED: How You Can Help Animals Affected By The Bushfire Crisis
“Fur? I am out of that,” vice-president, Donatella Versace, said at the time. “I don’t want to kill animals to make fashion. It doesn’t feel right.”
Off the back of Versace’s decision, British designer Paul Smith has followed suit and pledged to also ban ‘k-leather’.
According to the brand’s website, the company does not use exotic skins, fur or Angora rabbit hair.
“For buttons and trims, any troca (snail shell) or mother of pearl is handpicked or sustainably farmed, and the horn we use for buttons is a by-product of the meat industry,” the Paul Smith sustainability statement continues.
It is likely that brands have bowed down to the pressure as the Australian bushfire crisis has seen an estimated one billion animals perish – including over 30% of the koala population in New South Wales alone.
The fur-free movement marks progressive change with an increasing number of fashion houses putting their sustainable foot forward in recent years.
From Gucci to Burberry, these are the brands that have turned their backs on animal furs and leather so far.
Gucci
Italian powerhouse Gucci was one of the first designer labels to join the Fur Free Alliance back in October 2017 – which bars all use of furs bar shearling.
In a statement, CEO Marco Bizzarri announced that the company would no longer “use, promote or publicise animal fur” in its collections – starting with the spring/summer 2018 line.
The news came as a surprise to some with the brand’s love affair of fur spanning runways gone by but parent company Kering has been pushing for a more sustainable future in recent years.
Burberry
Back in September 2018, the British fashion giant announced that it would no longer use select animal furs in its products starting with Riccardo Tisci’s debut line as creative director.
The brand famously banned fox, mink, rabbit and angora though shearling and leather is still used throughout the brand’s collections.
Tisci described the move as the beginning of a “new era” on Instagram.
Chanel
Ahead of its pre-fall Metiers d’Art show in December 2018, Chanel announced that it would no longer use exotic skins in its collections.
The decision came after the French fashion house struggled to source products which met its “ethical and quality standards”.
The skins in question include lizard, stingray, snake and crocodile alongside fur.
“The future of high-end products will come from the know-how of what our atelier is able to do,” Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion at Chanel, said on the future of the company.
Prada
The Prada Group, which includes Prada, Miu Miu, Church’s and Car Shoe, vowed to ban fur in May 2019 and showcased its first fur-free collection during the spring/summer 2020 collections.
Miuccia Prada announced the news in a statement which read, “The Prada Group is committed to innovation and social responsibility, and our fur-free policy – reached following a positive dialogue with the Fur Free Alliance, in particular with LAV and the Humane Society of the United States – is an extension of that engagement.”
“Focusing on innovative materials will allow the company to explore new boundaries of creative design while meeting the demand for ethical products.”
The brand does however continue to sell products considered to be a “byproduct of the meat trade” such as sheepskin.
Versace and Paul Smith have become the latest fashion brands to ban the use of kangaroo skin in their designs amid mounting pressure from animal rights groups.
WATCH BELOW: Bella, Gigi, Kaia, Imaan, Adut And Tyra Just Formed The Ultimate Girl Band
Versace and Paul Smith have become the latest fashion brands to ban the use of kangaroo skin in their designs amid mounting pressure from animal rights groups.
WATCH BELOW: Bella, Gigi, Kaia, Imaan, Adut And Tyra Just Formed The Ultimate Girl Band
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
