Thirty years after PETA’s first “naked protest,” the New York-based luxury house omits fur from their designs.
Through the nineties, Dominican designer Oscar de la Renta was known for his unwavering pro-fur stance. Despite protests from non-profit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the fashion house continued to trim designs with fur and even collaborated with Beats by Dr. Dre for fur-lined headphones.
In 1991, PETA activists stormed a de la Renta runway show as their first-ever “naked protest.” The anti-animal cruelty group held a banner that read, “we’d rather go naked than wear fur.” This year, or thirty years later, the luxury brand has solidified a commitment to stop using animal fur in the designs they produce.
“Oscar de la Renta does not use fur in its fashion collections or sell fur in its stores, and will not in the future,” the house told the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (COAF). They added that their fur contractor license would end by October, and no new products will be made with the animal-derived material.
According to PETA, their international affiliates have exposed the specific cruelties practiced at fur farms.
“Investigators have documented that animals are electrocuted, bludgeoned, gassed, and even skinned alive,” their website’s blog reads. “What’s more, cramming sick and stressed animals together in unsanitary conditions creates the perfect breeding grounds for dangerous zoonotic diseases, which can jump to humans.”
COAF was another activist group that pressured de la Renta to go cruelty-free. They emailed the company’s executives in July and staged a protest outside the Madison Avenue store. Later that month, the coalition staged another protest at the Melrose Place store in Los Angeles, vandalizing its facade.
Cruelty-free trend
Oscar de la Renta will be joining other American luxury brands committed to being cruelty-free. Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Bouwer, and Vivienne Westwood are some earlier brands that banned fur from their pieces.
In addition, US luxury department stores Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman are to discontinue the fur salon sections of their establishments. Currently, Bergdof’s operates one fur salon while Neiman Marcus has twenty-one.
Banner photo from @doll_little_vintage_chest on Instagram
