The brand will ban all use of fur, effective in 2018.
Michael Kors is the latest to join a growing list of luxury brands opting to go fur-free. The American fashion house announced today that it will no longer use animal fur in any of its products.
According to Business of Fashion, Kors’s no fur policy will become effective in 2018, with production being fully phased out by December 2018. The policy will be company-wide, meaning it will also include Jimmy Choo—which Kors acquired in July for $1.2 billion.
“Due to technological advances in fabrications, we now have the ability to create a luxe aesthetic using non-animal fur. We will showcase these new techniques in our upcoming runway show in February,” Michael Kors said in a statement.
More and more luxury brands are now opting to go fur-free, due to pressure from animal activists as well as textile innovations allowing for the creation of luxe faux fur fabrics. In October, Gucci also announced its joining of the Fur Free Alliance—a huge move for the luxury Italian brand. Both the Italian brand and Michael Kors join an expanding list of designers that have banned the use of animal fur including Stella McCartney (who has been creating sustainable faux fur and leather designs for years), Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Armani, Tommy Hilfiger and online retailer Net-A-Porter.
While major fashion houses like Michael Kors committing to go fur-free fashion is a huge leap for the industry, there’s still a large number of brands fully embracing real fur. As BoF reports, Fur Information Council of America spokesperson Keith Kaplan revealed “nearly 70 percent of major designers included fur in their Autumn/Winter 2017 collections.” Meaning there’s still plenty of room for more designers to get on board the faux fur train.
BY LAUREN ALEXIS FISHER | Source: LINK