The animal kingdom has one less fashion designer to worry about.
Giorgio Armani, whose designs have been worn by celebrities from John Travolta to Kim Kardashian, has pledged to cease using animal fur. Starting from the fall-winter 2016 season, which hits stores in August, all of the garments in Armani’s collections will be fur-free, the Milan-based company said Tuesday in a statement.
“Technical progress made over the years allows us to have valid alternatives at our disposal that render the use of cruel practices unnecessary as regards animals,” Armani said in the statement. A spokesman declined to say how much revenue the company gets from fur products, which have drawn the ire of animal-rights activists over the years.
Armani, 81, follows British designer Stella McCartney and Germany’s Hugo Boss in not using fur, which has been making a comeback on the runway recently. LVMH-owned Fendi hosted an “ haute fourrure” show last July, consisting almost entirely of mink and other animal pelts. The recent round of fashion shows in London included fur coats by Burberry Plc among others.
The global fur trade was worth more than $40 billion in 2013, according to estimates by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. China is the world’s largest importer of fur, according to the International Fur Federation trade body.
Armani’s commitment “makes it clear that designers and consumers can have creative freedom and luxury without supporting animal cruelty,” said Joh Vinding, chairman of the Fur Free Alliance, an animal-rights lobby, in the statement.