‘A Rebel With a Cause’: Alan Cumming Stuns in Vegan Leather in New PETA Campaign

For Immediate Release:
February 3, 2026

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

New York Fashion Week made history when it banned fur—will animal skins be next? With the monumental fashion event just a week away, Alan Cumming stars in PETA’s provocative new messaging blitz popping up all over the city that puts a sexy, vegan twist on the iconic image of Marlon Brando in The Wild One—this time, featuring Cumming as the alluring outlaw rebelling against cruel, outdated animal skins. In the shot, the Emmy Award-winning host of the hit reality show The Traitors wears a cactus leather jacket by All Saints, vegan leather Dr. Martens boots, and a vegan leather cap while leaning against a vintage Triumph motorcycle and urging viewers to only wear leather made from plants.

PETA points out that most animal skins used for jackets, shoes, and other clothing come from cows raised for beef or milk, and that buying leather made from cows’ skin directly fuels factory farming.

“You can be sexy and powerful wearing vegan leather. I’ve done it. It’s so much cooler to be a rebel with a cause,” Cumming says in a new PETA video. “The dairy and meat industry is incredibly damaging to our planet and to the well-being of animals. There’s loads of plant-based materials that are available today in clothes of all sorts, so there’s absolutely no need to be wearing leather.”

Cows have friends and mourn when a loved one dies, but those killed for leather may be skinned and dismembered while still conscious—after they’ve endured castration (for males), branding, and tail docking, often without painkillers. In addition to the horrific cruelty that the leather industry inflicts on animals, it’s a major contributor to climate change, land devastation, deforestation, water pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Sustainable vegan leathers—including those made from apple peels, pineapple leaves, cork, mushrooms, and other plant materials—are just as durable and fashionable without the cruelty or environmental destruction of leather.

PETA’s poster—which was shot by photographer Richard Phibbs—can be seen plastered on facades throughout the city, including in SoHo and the Meatpacking District.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.