Gucci Goes Fur-Free… Welcome to the Club!

You better buy your kangaroo-fur loafers while you can! Gucci said in a statement yesterday that the luxury brand will no longer “use, promote, or publicize animal fur” in its collections. Since its Italian inception in 1921, Gucci has been known for its luxury wear, including archives fur products, but this will come to an end by the release of their Spring/Summer 2018 collections.

CEO and president, Marco Bizzarri said that the company’s furs are worth $11.8 million annually. These millions will be replaced by faux-fur, wool and innovative fabric products. Bizzarri said the choice came because he wanted Gucci to stay “modern” and “out of date” to use furs.

Gucci joins fashion houses like Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney and Giorgio Armani who also made the shift away from fur fashions. With support for the Humane Society of the United States, Gucci will also be joining the Fur Free Alliance. Recently, fashion houses have taken several shifts to be more tolerant of all audiences. Some other shifts include diversifying their models’ sizes, colors and heights.

The luxury brand will halt all fur production, including mink, coyote, raccoon dog, fox, rabbit, and karakul (otherwise known as Swakara, Persian lamb or astrakhan) and all others species specially bred or caught for fur. Gucci’s remaining fur items will be auctioned and the proceeds will go toward to the animal rights organisations  and LAV.

The fashion industry has been going through major changes lately, from honoring animal cruelty rights to pushing larger sizes and minority faces to the forefront. This year’s fashion month (also known as September, the month of fashion week and magazine’s most important issues) saw the largest numbers of diversity yet. Out of all 266 majors shows across the four fashion capitals (New York, London, Paris and Milan), 36.9% of models were models of color. Plus-size, trans and models over the age of 50 also shone a new light on inclusivity in fashion as their numbers rose significantly as well.

Cheers to animal lovers and all the strides the fashion industry is making toward building a more respectful environment for all consumers!