French luxury group Kering has just announced all its brands will cease the use of animal fur in their designs, beginning with the FW 2022 collections. Many of Kering’s brands, including Gucci and Balenciaga, have already stopped using fur over the past few years, so the announcement is most pertinent for Saint Laurent and menswear brand, Brioni.
“For many years, Kering has sought to take the lead in sustainability, guided by a vision of luxury that is inseparable from the very highest environmental and social values and standards,” said François-Henri Pinault, chairman and chief executive office of Kering. “When it comes to animal welfare, our group has always demonstrated its willingness to improve practices within its own supply chain and the luxury sector in general.”
In 2019, Kering published animal welfare standards “to ensure care and respect for animals in Kering’s supply chains” and “to catalyze and drive industry improvement with more just, humane and safe practices.” At that point, Gucci had already been fur free since 2017. Since then other Kering brands, including Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, and Alexander McQueen have followed their lead. (The company also owns several luxury jewelry and watch brands, including Pomellato and Boucheron, where the issue is less pertinent.)
So, the announcement means that Kering’s last two brands that still use fur—Saint Laurent and Broni—will ditch the practice, starting with their FW 2022 collections, to be exhibited early next year. According to WWD, the policy will also affect any brand acquired by Kering in the future.
“The time has now come to take a further step forward by ending the use of fur in all our collections,” Pinault said. “The world has changed, along with our clients, and luxury naturally needs to adapt to that,” he added.
Source: W Magazine
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