Written by Michelle Sherrow
During New York Fashion Week, thousands of style editors from around the world scurry between runway shows in cabs—that's why PETA planned to run Stella McCartney's new leather exposé on the city's unavoidable video screens in taxis. We're no strangers to having our ads banned, so we've kind of grown thick skin about it, but we weren't prepared for the lightning-quick rejection that VeriFone Media gave us. It seems the company only wants to run consumer promotions, not cautions.
"As a designer, I like to work with fabrics that don't bleed; that's why I avoid all animal skins," Stella says in the video, which spotlights animal suffering and the human health risk and environmental impact of leather tanneries. "Please join me in exploring the huge variety of fashionable shoes, belts, purses, and wallets that aren't the product of a cow's violent death."
We're disappointed that the advertising company told us to take a hike, but we're launching the video for Fashion Week anyway. Check it out below:
Explore some überhip cruelty-free fashions with PETA's style guide.
Written by PETA
Animal-friendly is the new black, as evidenced by all the good news in our latest edition of Internet Soup. Enjoy!
Maybe vegan Natalie Portman's Oscar-winning performance in Black Swan inspired us. PETA supporters took the use of fur in Paris Fashion Week collections into their own toe shoes with a demonstration that was visually stunning. To pointe out how animals killed for their fur are bludgeoned, electrocuted, and skinned alive, a dancer wearing a fur coat was sniffed, stalked, and "bitten" by other dancers portraying the animals she was wearing, and then her limp body was carried away.
The ballet, which featured dancers from Cirque du Soleil, Mozart, and Dracula, was performed outside the historic ballet venue Paris Opéra just after Stella McCartney's fur-free fashion show. The group drew a huge crowd and gave a convincing portrayal of why people should pirouette away from cruel fur.
PETA's party for New York Fashion Week was a smashing success, even by Fashion Week standards. Hosted by Project Runway's Tim Gunn and Olivia Munn, the celebrity guests included Taraji P. Henson, Joan Jett, reality stars Lo Bosworth and Stephanie Pratt, and fashion designers Todd Oldham, John Bartlett, and Marc Bouwer, plus many others. They all partied at Stella McCartney's chic New York City boutique while listening to tunes spun by DJ Lady Bunny and munching on delicious vegan hors d'oeuvres.
Tim, looking dashing as always, screened the riveting anti-fur video that he narrated for PETA and spoke about how killing animals for their fur is never in fashion. "I'm on a campaign to get as many fashion designers as possible to stop using it," said Gunn. "I'd just like to sit with them and have a talk and ask, 'Is it really necessary?'" And when Tim Gunn talks about fashion, people listen.
Henson, the latest beauty to bare it all for animals, unveiled her sexy new ad and told the party attendees that she stopped wearing fur after channel-surfing and coming across the "I Am an Animal" documentary about PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. What she saw changed her entire perspective on fur, and she resolved to help others see the light."You don't have to kill an animal because you want to be hot and fly," she said. And she promised the crowd to keep on pushing to get fur off the streets.
When we heard about the fur that was featured in the William Rast runway collection—backed by Justin Timberlake—at New York Fashion Week, we all said, "WTF?!" (Why the fur?!) The mother-loving chart-topper would support the beating, electrocuting, and drowning of animals for a fashion line that has previously used only faux? It just didn't make sense—which is why we asked J.T. himself if there would be fur in the William Rast retail collection.
Well, Colin Dyne, the CEO of Justin's fashion house, just confirmed to PETA that there will be no real fur in the collection, just some fake fur fringe on some of the shoes. His response made it pretty obvious which collection we'll be (sexy) backing in spring. Phew.
Written by Logan Scherer
We told you we'd be back. After nixing plans to protest Vogue's Fashion Week party out of respect for our pal Charlize Theron, we showed up at last night's "Fashion's Night Out" event at Macy's to make sure that villainous Vogue editor Anna "Nuclear" Wintour never forgets that animals often remain alive after being skinned for their fur:
Written by Amy Elizabeth
And it's all because friends don't protest friends.
No, we haven't suddenly made amends with Anna Wintour. It's longtime PETA friend Charlize Theron who has us putting the kibosh on our protest plans.
Charlize will be on hand at Vogue's Fashion Week party on Thursday to sign copies of the magazine's September issue. But while Charlize may be gracing the cover of this notoriously furry magazine, the Oscar-winning actress wouldn't be caught dead in fur.
The PETA pal even wore our "Fight Breedism" T-shirt to her Vogue interview.
Don't worry—we'll still be making sure that ol' Anna hears from us. She and fellow fur fiend Michael Kors will be putting in an appearance at Wintour's "Fashion's Night Out" event at Macy's … and so will we.
Written by Amanda Schinke
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If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.