Fur Free Gucci - My own reaction to Gucci's decision to get rid of something "out-dated"

I am shocked. This is the first thing I thought after having read the latest article of BOF about Gucci rejection to fur in its collections from now on. I am shocked because I am confused, and disappointed, and angry, and every other kind of feeling related to astonishment. This is mainly due to the fact that, few weeks ago I saw the latest catwalk dreamt by Alessandro Michele , and I was utterly enthusiast about the use of eclectic items, encompassing old fur coats (maybe dismissed, and resurrected from the dust of an ancient wardrobe) . That was astonishing in a completely different way, that was an incredible masterpiece of a man, who has been able to collect things from past, present, and future, and gathered them together in one choir. Fur obviously has been part of this choir, and it was an extravagant, and eye-catching part, considering just its mink coats with animals, and flower intarsia from the previous collections, not to mention the slipper-loafers -which I am not sure yet what they were exactly- with the lamb fur wrapping the insole. In the website this loafer is described as “a mainstay of Gucci collections. Unconventional yet entirely modern, the influential accessory is a contemporary interpretation of the Horsebit loafer.”

Wait… do they say “modern” ? Yes, they do. Actually they call it an influential and modern accessory that you cannot miss. Although it is made with fur. Although it is made with leather. Because we are forgetting that those shoes are made with leather, and not salad. So when they point at fur, as something horrible, and reprehensible, I am quite surprised that they are not doing the same for leather products, given that leather comes from animal exploitation too, if we want to be clear. But who cares about that ? As long as, it is calf, or lamb, or python etc. and not a cute fluffy fox raised in a tiny cage.

Well, I would like to dispel a myth now, or maybe a few.

First of all, when you say “ Oh, I prefer using faux-fur because it is more ethical, and more eco-friendly”, you are off track . Faux-fur has nothing to do with sustainability, as it is made with oil, which is one of the most polluting, and damaging industries nowadays. Or, it can be done with plastic, which derives from oil anyway. It is not biodegradable, and if by any chance you drop your cigarette on it, you will catch fire as a torch. How lovely, isn’t it?

On the contrary, the real fur, we can even call it the proper ecological fur, comes directly from nature, and it will last a lifetime. The dressing company are implementing their standards, and efficiency in order to answer a wide demand from fashion houses to “go green”. This translates, for instance, in not using polluting chemical substances, and not wasting water, just to cite some improvements.

Secondly, when you talk about animal exploitation, you are thinking about minks, and foxes in little cages bred by patented butchers, or you dreaming about wild animals, running free in the woods, trapped in mischievous snares. Poor them, you might say. But, sorry again, it is not like that.

Animals are raised and hunted according to strict international regulations, aiming to ensure the welfare, and the less suffering of the animals. In the main fur websites, such as IFF, The Truth about Fur, etc. or the websites of the main fur auction houses, such as Kopenhagen Fur, Saga, Nafa etc. you can find detailed reports about welfare programs around the world. These programs tend to lower the pain of the animal in both fields : farms, and hunting. As for the farming, animals are killed in the same place as they are kept, so they will not go through the stress of being transferred to the slaughterhouse. They are taken from the cages and put inside a gas machine, where they just fell asleep without suffering. Concerning the hunting, the animals are caught with “patented” traps, that kill the animal at once, again without suffering, which are placed in specific authorised zones by authorised hunters.

Are you still mad at those merciless people, who make money with fur ? That is none of my business.

In the end, this was not supposed to be an ethical lesson from the other side of the barricade, ethics is a broad dimension where you cannot trace a line between right or wrong, as it depends on the belief and the personal thought : what I believe to be right, can be wrong for you, and vice versa. I was just trying to share my opinion, small it might be.

I used the Gucci article, as a starting point because I am so tired of listening to false, and deceiving accusations from people who should be open-minded in ALL directions, even though the decision might be problematic in its consequences. It’s too easy to ride the moment, and then when the wave passed, change the course, and hide yourself behind statements, such as : “I need to do it because the best talent will not come to work for Gucci”. Furthermore, when they say that the new generations, the so-called Millennials, are “more ethically minded than previous generations”, I see a dull attempt to reverse the guilt to someone else. I must say that Millennials aren’t more ethically minded than other generations, they have just grown up in a different context, and lifestyles, they grew up in some kind of ignorance about what is fur. I am using the word “ignorance”, meaning “ignore, not knowing”, either for choice, or not.

I am a furrier, and I love my job, I love touching the skins, and working with them. I go upstream, I do not care if people think I am heartless, or stupid. There is a innate connection between me and the fur, I can say that I was born among furs, it gives me thrills because it comes from something alive, and it does maintain this life. Indeed, I had been taught by a special man, that when you honour it, the animal, who gave its life for your needs, will keep on living, and it didn’t die in vane. And that’s my point.

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

― George Orwell

If you want to gain more knowledge, take a look in here:

International Fur Federation Website

Business of Fur Website

Truth About Fur Website

Main Auction Houses in the World - Websites

--- And this is me, a funny & sunny Italian girl from Padua who wants to become one of the best fur broker in the fur business. ---

IFF - Vittoria Tosatto

Main sources:

BoF article : "Gucci bans fur : It's not modern"

Vogue Italia article : "Gucci dice no alla pelliccia"

PambiancoNews article : "La svolta fur free di Gucci: addio alle pellicce dalla P/E 2018"