Have you noticed lately that fur is back in fashion? How did that happen? I was watching Fashion Television the other day and was disgusted to see SO MUCH fur on the runway. What the hell?
I’ve also noticed lately that the hipster kids are now wearing more fur (as well as feathers, leather and other animal products).
I’m sure it’s done in an ironic way (same as their ironic mustaches…) but irony or not …
Fur is a dead animal. Not cool. Ever.
I had a conversation in the car the other day with a friend about all the hard work “we” (in the vegan community) did in the 90’s to put pressure on the fashion industry to stop using fur. And more importantly to educate the buying public that fur was/is not fashionable at all – that it’s not a symbol of luxury but instead a symbol of abject cruelty.
Little side note. Did you know that the very first “We’d rather go naked than wear fur!” campaign in 1991 was done by The Go-Go’s? 🙂
These fab five ladies have always paved the way … but I digress … While 1991 doesn’t seem like that long ago to people my age – I realized that these dear sweet hipster kids were only 3 or 4 years old during the height of these campaigns. Did we forget to pass down our knowledge of the cruelty that happens to animals for food and fashion?
So what does that mean? Is it time to re-educate? How do we remind the hipsters (and the rest of the fashion community) that the hippest thing you can be is cruelty free?
I know; I thought moving to Vancouver I’d see less fur and animal skins, simply due to our wet climate. Not so- I’m always amazed that otherwise intelligent, progressive, aware people still wear skins that aren’t theirs, let alone eat them and use animals in so many other inhumane capacities. It’s hard for me to remember a time when I didn’t make the connection even though it was only 6 years ago I went vegan. I can’t imagine looking at fur or leather any other way now other than to see it as absolute pain, suffering and torture.
Hello Sarah,
Recently I have been asking the same question. So I wrote this churlish post on my blog: http://msvitriol.blogspot.com/2009/04/it-takes-up-to-forty-dumb-animals-to.html
It is rather distressing indeed. Many of the designers who swore off fur in the 90s have returned it to their collections. Indeed many of the models who were working in the 90s are also donning a pelt. It’s as if being animal-friendly was just cool posturing in the 90s.
Thanks for your post.
Jess
I’ve noticed the same thing. I think it started as a Thrift Store thing. You know, it’s vintage, but then it promoted making new fur to appeal to the hipsters wearing vintage fur. Either way I don’t get it. I thought we were past the fur thing, but I guess not.
Tell me about it. Its odd, on one hand there’s growing pressure for Canada to cease its seal hunt, and the EU has a ban on seal products, but somehow other types of fur aren’t just as problematic or worse?
True dat. I mean, as bad as seal hunting is, fur farms are worse still – yet the fashionable Europeans who are up in arms about the seal hunt appear to have no huge problem with wearing farmed fur. I don’t get it. Or rather, I think I do get it – the seal hunt gets publicity, while fur farming doesn’t get as much media exposure, and most people just don’t have very long attention spans. Makes me sad.