LONDON — London designers have rejected real fur, and no one will be using it on the London Fashion Week catwalks for the spring 2019 season.
The British Fashion Council said Friday that no one plans to show fur in their collections, according to its recent survey of all on-schedule designers.
The news comes on the heels of Burberry’s decision to eliminate fur from its collections, with the exception of shearling, and follows similar policies by brands including Gucci, Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors.
The BFC’s survey on fur was part of the organization’s Positive Fashion initiative, which aims to educate designers to make ethical choices and reduce waste in their supply chain.
The BFC itself has not banned fur, and said that while it advises designers to operate in sustainable ways, it cannot interfere with their creative processes.
In the last year, anti-fur activists have been making their presence felt outside BFC venues, demanding that the organization impose a total fur ban on catwalk and presentation designers.
“The BFC supports the creativity of designers and keeps an open dialogue with the industry, from designers to media, retailers, business leaders, government and global brands while encouraging designers to make ethical choices when it comes to their selection of materials and supply chain,” the organization said Friday.
Other Positive Fashion priorities include the introduction of a code conduct for models during the shows, the provision of visas for talented fashion design students and a two-year partnership with David Beckham to build partnerships and networks in the U.S. and Asia.