Is This The Beginning Of The End For The Fur Trade?
It seems that many fashion houses and major US cities have started to ban the use of fur in their clothes and shops.
(AOL)
San Francisco is one of the first major US cities to ban the sale of fur, after the city’s Board of Supervisors’ unanimous vote. The ban goes into effect on 1st of January 2019, and the city’s retailers have until January of 2020 to sell their fur stock. Clothing and accessories made from animal fur will no longer have a place on the shelves of San Francisco’s retail shops. Currently, San Francisco is the third Californian city banning the sale of fur after Berkley and West Hollywood.
This is a very encouraging move, at a time when more and more designers are declaring their cessation of animal fur use. Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Michael Kors, and now Versace recently announced that only eco-friendly “faux fur” will be used in their collections.
Michael Kors (Fashionista)
In October 2017, Marco Bizzarri, president and CEO of Gucci, stated in the Business of Fashion that using fur today is out-dated, and that’s the main reason why they stopped using it in their collections. In 2016, Giorgio Armani announced that he’ll stop the use of real fur. He also said that new technologies “render the use of cruel practices unnecessary as regards animals.”
Model at the Gucci Cruise 2018 show in Florence, Italy. (Pietro DΓÇÖAprano/Getty Images)
At the end of 2017, the iconic American designer, Michael Kors, announced that his company would no longer use real fur. The top Italian brand Versace, known for its unique Italian aesthetic has officially stated that it will stop using real fur, with Donatella Versace telling The Economist’s 1843 magazine, “Fur? I am out of that. I don’t want to kill animals to make fashion. It doesn’t feel right.”
Donatella Versace. (Alberto Scarpinato/IPA/RexShutterstock)
The “fur issue” will continue to bother the majority of fashion designers, since it’s not just about the use of real or fake. It’s more about sustainability and the way the faux-fur is produced.
Designers In Film: The Relationship Between Fashion And Film
Since the very early days of cinema, fashion designers have helped create Hollywood style icons.
Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" wearing Givenchy. (Filmsane)
The relationship between fashion and film has always been a close one. Many renowned fashion designers are responsible for a number of iconic key pieces worn by film stars. In turn, several film stars became muses of luxury fashion houses. These two worlds share commonalities such as glamour and the pursuit of aesthetics.
On 20th March 2018, a great French fashion designer and couturier passed away at the age of 91. Hubert de Givenchy, “Le Grand Hubert” as the French called him, was an image maker who created style icons. He dressed Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy. In 1954, the collaboration between Givenchy and Hepburn for the costumes in Billy Wilder’s film Sabrina was the beginning of a long-lasting friendship. Everyone remembers Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) standing in front of the window of Tiffany’s wearing her little black Givenchy dress and a pair of oversized sunglasses.
Hepburn in a 1958 fitting with designer Givenchy at his Paris atelier. (Hollywood Reporter/ Everett Collection)
Many other collaborations between these two magical worlds came up in the years to follow. In 1967, Catherine Deneuve in Luis Bunuel’s movie Belle de Jour marked the acquaintance of the actress and the thirty years old designer, Yves Saint Laurent.
Catherine Deneuve wearing YSL in "Belle de Jour". (Clothes On Film)
Back in 1982, Marc Bohan for Dior designed a dress with a big bow at the back, for the movie Tout Feu, Tout Flamme and worn by Isabelle Adjani.
Isabelle Adjani wears Dior in "Tout feu tout flamme". (Isabelle Adjani Blog)
There have been many other eye-catching and influential costumes in cinema that generated fashion and style icons. Diane Keaton in Woody Allen’s movie Annie Hall (1977) promoted Ralph Lauren’s trend-setting masculine style.
Ralph Lauren dresses Diane Keaton for Woody Allen's "Annie Hall". (E! Online)
Giorgio Armani’s suits for American Gigolo (1980) made Richard Gere the ultimate best-dressed male of the ‘80s by far.
Moreover, we should not neglect the Vivienne Westwood wedding dress that was worn by the most stylish single woman of New York, Carrie Bradshaw (aka Sarah Jessica Parker) in the Sex and the City (2008) movie.
The fascinating journey of fashion in films is special and looks like a fairytale. Designers became well-known through their creations that appeared in films and muses emerged by wearing their masterpieces in films.
MFW F/W2018: La Divina Moda.
Hybrids. Clans. Cyborgs. Religion. Everything looked surreal in this still-real-world we live in.
February 21, 2018
Gucci
The fashion week in Milan initiated quite dynamically, shockingly dynamic someone would say. The invitation to Gucci had already prompted that the guests wouldn’t be watching an ordinary runway show. A timer in a plastic bag which counted in reverse until the beginning of the show, that was taking place in a surgery room. Alessandro Michele titled the Gucci show “Cyborg” after Donna Haraway’s 1984 “A Cyborg Manifesto” essay. Two models were carrying their own heads as accessories, another holding a dragon, and a third eye was staring from a model’s forehead. Living in a world full of uncertainty, where many questions have been risen and found no answers, Michele created a hybrid that surpasses dualisms and dichotomies. Velvet dresses, tweed jackets, distressed jeans, and furs covered with tulle. A futuristic collection with a grim touch.
Moschino
It’s very obvious that Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were the inspiration for Jeremy Scott’s fall collection for Moschino. Bobbed hair and pillbox hats were reminiscent of the First Lady, but with some Pop Art and alien characteristics. However, it was the bombshell who came out wearing evening looks because something’s got to give.
February 22, 2018
Max Mara
Max Mara is synonymous with powerful and beautiful outwear since its foundation day, back in 1951. With this collection, Max Mara wanted to gain the appreciation of a younger generation. Power dressing with some ’80s punk chic details created a very strong theme. Large coats, leather skirts teamed with slim pants, and T-shirts with Francoise Berthoud illustrations are waiting to be worn by powerful Millennial queens.
Fendi
“Romantic femininity for a powerful woman,” were Silvia Venturini Fendi’s words about the last collection. This time Karl Lagerfeld and Fendi focused on men’s fabrics and detailed tailoring. Double-breasted glossy coats in Prince of Wales checks, handkerchief linen transformed into coat collars and embroidered dresses, Texan boots, and the new version of Peekaboo bag, the Peekaboo X-Lite brought the perfect balance between strong lines and the delicacy of the ‘40s.
Prada
Miuccia Prada decided to match two opposing types of women in order to create a superwoman, who isn’t afraid to fight if needed while wearing something extremely feminine. On the one side, bustier, tulle, and sequins and on the other protective tight knit dresses, and jackets in neon colors were worn as armor. Also, the “Hot Rods” shoes are back, but with an upgrade and perfectly matched with the Fondazione Prada’s view of the post-industrial Milan.
February 23, 2018
Etro
Etro becomes 50 years old and the creative director, Veronica Etro wanted to celebrate it with the most Etro-ish way. Prints and glamorous bohemian aesthetics were the main ingredients for the “Folk Deco” collection. Fringes, suede boots, printed dresses and shearling jackets proved that stylish can be also cozy.
Versace
For the Italians, “La Famiglia” is the most important, and sacred, thing. The family is something that proves where you belong, it’s a form of identity. Maybe that was what Donatella Versace had in mind when she named the last collection “The Clans of Versace.” Tartans, African graphism, total monochrome mixed with a multitude of styles and decades. Many designs were from her brother Gianni, but Donatella produced a collection that belongs in the “Famiglia Versace”.
GUCCI
MOSCHINO
MAX MARA
FENDI
PRADA
ETRO
VERSACE
GIORGIO ARMANI
MISSONI
JIL SANDER
MARNI
DOLCE & GABBANA
TOMMY HILFIGER
February 24, 2018
Giorgio Armani
“Inspired by many cultures as an ode to co-existence as opposed to exclusion,” were Giorgio Armani’s notes about the collection. Clothes in pale colors were succeeded by jackets and then by embellished gowns. The many fabrics created a collection that can travel around the world through textures and design.
Missoni
Missoni is well-known for its zigzagging, multicolored knits. For this season, Angela Missoni created another story mixing Caribbean colors and references to Jamaican colorful layering. Icons such as Lisa Bonet, Basquiat and Hendrix were an inspiration for this ‘70s and early ‘80s super colorful collection.
Jil Sander
A collection inspired by the sci-fi movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”, a nostalgia for what the future holds for humans. Outfits with references to astronaut uniforms that exhaled purity. “We’re surrounded by technology and AI and all these things that are always in the news and in the consciousness. We thought, ‘Why can’t the future be beautiful, soft and human also?’” said Luke Meier backstage.
February 25, 2018
Marni
“Techno-primitivism” is what Francesco Risso named his Fall 2018 Marni show – a contradiction in terms. Marni is a synonym to minimalism, yet this collection was dedicated to the use of contrasting colors, fabrics and prints. It was referring to that type of women who, at the same time, can combine fragility and powerfulness in a creative way. Well-constructed coats and dresses mixing two opposite fabrics produced a weird but very beautiful outcome.
Dolce & Gabbana
A Catholic ceremony with a touch of technology; that was Dolce&Gabbana. When the golden gates opened, eight drones appeared and each of them carried a D&G handbag. “Fashion Devotion” was the title of the collection, and not by chance. Every outfit was inspired by the Catholic church; the colors, the fabrics, the accessories. Even slogan printed t-shirts were referring to Church in some way. A collection made for sin.
Tommy Hilfiger
All started in New York, went to London, then Beijing and now Milan, the fashion capital in Tommy Hilfiger’s mind. It was something like a World Tour or pit stop of racing cars. Hilfiger’s spring #TommyNow see-now-buy-now collection was not only a celebration of his love for fast cars but also a celebration of his partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas, through which he will be its official apparel partner. Racing tops and jackets with Hilfiger’s logo, stripes, denim and sheer dresses. Everything looked so authentic. And, Gigi Hadid was there to add more cuteness and youthfulness at this “Fast and Furious” show.
