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.
Alex Reis: A Model Search Discovery.
Almost three years ago, Alex Reis entered a model search in hopes to follow his dream of becoming a model and actor. Since then, he has been signed with Stars Management and has never looked back.
FMD: You were discovered through a Stars Management Model Search. What made you enter the model search?
Alex: My dream has always been to pursue acting. I looked up model and talent agencies, and I found Stars. I saw that they were having one, and I just went out to them.
FMD: What has been the biggest lesson that you’ve learned while modeling?
Alex: To be yourself, no matter what. Even though people will want you to look a certain way or be someone else, in the end, you will gain so much more if you are just yourself. That’s the biggest thing. I think, in this industry, people can get easily manipulated or persuaded into being someone else, and when they become that, I think they actually lessen their chances of [achieving] their goals.
FMD: So, not trying to copy someone else?
Alex: It’s easy to see another person and follow their footsteps or try to emulate them. But, you are kind of losing who you are, your uniqueness. Once you find that you have that special something, whatever it is, that uniqueness or personality, and if you can bring that out during a shoot or audition, you are going to gain so much more. When you copy someone else, you’re just generic. But, if you can be that something else, you will stand out, and that’s a hugely powerful tool.
FMD: Would you say that’s a big lesson for life in general?
Alex: Yes, especially in relationships, and with yourself – loving yourself too. This is kind of an interesting industry, unlike anything else I’ve been in. You have to have a lot of self-love and that balance of self-esteem. Be true to yourself. Believe in yourself.
FMD: What’s been your favorite modeling moment so far?
Alex: One has been bike riding around downtown San Francisco during rush hour, and I was in an astronaut costume riding an electric bicycle. A police motorcade guided me through traffic, and it was just wild. The photographer was hanging off the side of a motorcycle. Crazy! There was that, and there was a shoot I did in Northern California eating BBQ Oysters, another one I went to Tahoe and played in the snow.
FMD: Do you prefer doing on-camera/moving image as opposed to print/stills?
Alex: Maybe, perhaps I might like on-camera, just because there are more possibilities and range. But, it all depends on what’s going on. Like, there can be so much more behind the stills too. There can be movement, but the photographer is just capturing it in a single image.
FMD: What would you say to the aspiring models entering the #fmd❤️starsmodel search?
Alex: If this is something that you want to do, don’t be discouraged right away. Be very patient. Don’t expect for any quick fame or whatever. Don’t chase it for the fame, chase it for something else, something more valuable. I think mostly do it for yourself, believe in yourself.
