At Melbourne Spring Fashion Week last month, animal protestors from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) stormed the stage with ‘no fur’ signs. As a result, designers were told to withdraw fur from their apparel, despite having spent months hand-crafting garments for the show.
“People have the right to protest peacefully and respectfull, but we prefer that they are not disruptive,” a City of Melbourne spokesman said. “Our designers have worked extremely hard on their collections and we didn’t want their big moment overshadowed by protesters. As a result, we requested designers who may use fur in their collection not to include these garments in Melbourne Spring Fashion Week. We make no judgement on the use of fur, leather or suede more broadly.”
PETA senior campaigner Ashley Fruno said there is no reason for fur to be used in fashion as there are plenty of non-animal alternatives, such as Thinsulate, Polarguard, Primaloft and a variety of other synthetics.
“Consumers need to know that every fur coat, lining or item of trim represents the intense suffering of animals, whether they were trapped or ranched and whether they are cats, dogs, rabbits or raccoons,” Fruno said. “These cruelties will end only when consumers refuse to buy or wear fur and there are plenty of non-animal alternatives that protect us from the cold.”
Australian designer Lisa Maree Boersma, who specialises in swimwear and ready-to- wear clothing, quirky Tasmanian-born designer, Alannah Hill, and Melbourne-based designer Alexi Freeman, are among several designers who do not use fur in their collections. Freeman, whose creations for women incorporate elements of hand drawn and printed textiles worked into drape and juxtaposed with tailoring, said not all fur garments should be viewed in the same way.
“Although I love to offer anomalous combinations of fabrics, real fur is not a material I would consider offering as part of an Alexi Freeman seasonal collection,” Freeman said. “Fur certainly has its place in the history of clothing, as does the use of ivory for jewellery, but I feel neither are relevant materials for contemporary fashion considering the way these materials are obtained. That said, if someone chooses to wear a vintage fur, then I don’t see any problem in that. But I do think there is a huge divide between vintage, and the practice of buying and wearing of new fur when there are so many other materials available that can be manufactured in a far more humane way.”
Queensland-based haute couture fashion designer, make-up artist, stylist and photographer, Richard de Chazal, uses vintage fur in his clothing creations. Despite being a fan of old furs, he is a member of PETA and does not support the culling of animals for contemporary furs.
“My style is old Hollywood glamour, and an intrinsic part of this is fur,” de Chazal said. “There is a certain elegance about the fabric that cannot be replicated, and I would use it for trims, collars, cuffs and accessories.
“I absolutely do not stand for the killing of animals for their fur and I only use recycled fur from a bygone era.”
Ragtrader contacted several other Australian designers, but not all were able to give their opinions on the use of fur in fashion for fear of being labelled as anti or pro-fur. Owner of Brisbane-based Jackson Furs clothing store and workshop, Cheryl Cambridge, regularly receives requests from Brisbane, Melbourne and in particular, Sydney designers. She said as it is very tactile, varied and is an ‘infinitely changeable material’, many people with fine fur, and even some of the rough furs, are now having them knitted, shaved, plucked, sheared, laser patterned and cut.
“Heaps of vintage clothing furs are coming out of wardrobes now, whether that’s granddaughters wanting to alter their grandmother’s fur coat or people preparing for going overseas – fur and business is doing well,” Cambridge said. “Some finishes have been removed from their furry naturalness and become so feather light, yet they still retain warmth. They can be married with chiffon, grosgrain, suede and shredded with these to ‘let out’ the fur skin - mixing it up for both fashion design and also weather applicable ability.” ?
Nadia Sliwka