Versace’s collections have historically included plenty of fur, from a variety of species including mink, fox and raccoon dog, but that’s a thing of the past according to Donatella Versace, who has promised the brand will be going fur-free.
Donatella said her family’s luxury label will no longer use real fur, in an interview with The Economist’s 1843 magazine: “Fur? I am out of that. “I don’t want to kill animals to make fashion. It doesn’t feel right.”
However, it is worth noting that at the time the interview was written, the Versace website was urging customers to consider “fur-embellished coats that turn heads” and Versace’s creative director has not yet provided further details on the change. But then change rarely happens overnight.
Claire Bass Executive Director of Humane Society International (HSI) UK, which campaigns globally for an end to the fur trade, said: “Versace is a massively influential luxury brand that symbolises excess and glamour, and so its decision to stop using fur shows that compassionate fashion has never been more on trend.
“Such influential brands turning their backs on cruel fur makes the few designers like Fendi and Burberry who are still peddling fur look increasingly out of touch and isolated.”
Versace’s announcement follows an open letter to Theresa May from 31 celebrities, including Paloma Faith, Judi Dench and Andy Murray, in support of the #FurFreeBritain campaign. Their letter urges the Prime Minister to introduce a UK ban on animal-fur imports.
Versace is following in the footsteps of Michael Kors, Gucci, and Net-a-Porter, all of which recently stopped using fur.