London Fashion Week bans exotic animal skins: ‘The future of fashion is animal-free’

London Fashion Week is banning designers from showing collections containing exotic animal skins, a step forward for the British Fashion Council’s sustainability initiatives.

Designers will now be forced to comply with the new policy when applying to be included in the official London Fashion Week calendar, a first for the “big four” international fashion weeks.

While Copenhagen Fashion Week banned exotic skins from the catwalk earlier this year, fashion weeks in Milan, Paris and New York have yet to follow suit.

“As part of the British Fashion Council’s Positive Fashion Initiative, London Fashion Week is fur-free, wild skin-free and exotic skin-free,” a BFC spokesperson told The Post via email.

“We know that many of our designers have strong ethics and are working towards more sustainable practices and accurate measurements. We are committed to providing our network with tools and resources to help them on this journey.”

The Post has reached out to New York Fashion Week representatives for comment.

The new policy – ​​announced this week by the council’s deputy director of policy and engagement, David Leigh-Pemberton – is a step forward for the BFC’s commitment to sustainable and ethical practice through the Council’s Positive Fashion Institute, which runs “ social, environmental and sustainability”. programs.”

“The BFC continues to lead work on circularity, the low carbon transition, DE&I and social impact within the fashion sector,” the spokesperson added, noting that the BFC is now working with designers and the fashion community on “their approach to feathers on the catwalk.

“Thank you to those individuals and organizations whose collective constructive challenge has helped evolve our approach to these issues.”

The debate over animal products – from hides and feathers to fur and hides – is controversial in the industry amid pressure from animal protection and sustainability groups, but luxury designers still use them.

Kering, the parent company of brands such as Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Balenciaga, bans fur, but its labels still use exotic skins, while LVMH, the parent company of Loewe, Givenchy and Celine, has banned neither the use of exotic skins nor furs . , according to Vogue Business.

However, many designers have abandoned real furs and exotic skins – such as snake, alligator and crocodile – in favor of more sustainable and ethical practices.

Chanel ditched exotics and furs in 2018, while Marc Jacobs ditched fur earlier this year after being “harassed” by protesters, stating that his iconic brand “does not work with, use or sell fur, nor we will not do in the future”.

Animal rights group PETA has been particularly vocal about the use of animal products in the fashion industry, as protesters affiliated with the nonprofit advocacy organization have stormed runways over the years.

Last year, the Coach catwalk at NYFW was brought down by PETA protesters holding signs reading “Coach Leather Kills”, while demonstrators appeared at London Fashion Week in March and again at Paris Fashion Week in September.

PETA told The Post that “tens of thousands” of the organization’s supporters have contacted the BFC to encourage the ban, calling its fur ban “overdue.”

“We salute the compassionate British designers who helped start this new policy by recognizing that crocodiles, lizards, snakes and other animals should not be beaten, impaled or beheaded for their skin,” Yvonne Taylor, vice president of corporate projects at PETA. , told The Post in a statement.

“The future of fashion is animal-free – and the future is now.”