Breaking! High Fashion Houses Balenciaga & Alexander McQueen Join Gucci, Armani, And Versace By Announcing New Fur-Free Policies

Iconic British fashion house Alexander McQueen and Spanish designer Balenciaga are the latest Kering-owned luxury brands to announce fur-free policies.

The fur-free announcement was made in Kering’s 2020 Universal Registration document, which states, “Most of the Group’s Houses do not use fur. For example, Gucci is part of the Fur-Free Retailer program promoted by NGO Fur Free Alliance, and has banned the use of furs across its entire range since its Spring/Summer 2018 collections. Gucci is also committed to no longer using angora. Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and MCQ also no longer use fur in their collections.”

Only Kering’s Saint Laurent and Brioni have yet to announce fur-free policies.

“This latest announcement that these two iconic fashion houses are fur-free is making a huge statement. As more brands move away from using fur, they pave the way for others to follow, as well as for future fur-free legislation,” PJ Smith, Director of Fashion Policy for the Humane Society of the United States told WAN. “It used to be something when one brand would go fur-free, now, waves of companies are. The change has been fast since the momentum started in 2015 with Armani and Hugo Boss.”

McQueen and Balenciaga are the latest to join a rapidly expanding group of fashion designers dropping fur, including: Prada, Gucci, Armani, Versace, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, DKNY, and Burberry.

As noted in a statement by the Humane Society of the United States, the news comes as several cities, states, and even entire countries look to ban fur sales. In 2019, California became the first U.S. state to ban fur sales, after several of its cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, passed similar legislation. Lawmakers in several other U.S. states have already introduced fur sale bans in 2021, and in the United Kingdom, which banned fur production in 2003, the government is now considering calls for the UK to become the first country to ban fur sales.

Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States have been working with Kering, and its brands, for more than a decade on adopting a fur-free policy.

You can help all animals and our planet by choosing compassion on your plate and in your glass. #GoVeg