The family of fashion brands siding with animal rights keeps growing. Just a few days ago, the maison Valentino announced its definitive farewell to the use of animal fur in its collections; immediately afterwards, Brunello Cucinelli also made it known, through the non-profit organisation Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), that all of its garments would be fur-free. But which are the fashion brands that have embraced the idea of more ethical, sustainable and cruelty-free fashion? Let's take a quick look.

The list of fashion brands that no longer use animal fur

1. Giorgio Armani

Among the pioneers in the definitive farewell to animal fur is Giorgio Armani, who from the autumn/winter 2016/2017 season committed to eliminating it completely from all of the group's collections (Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, Armani Junior, EA7 and Armani Home). According to the designer, "the technological progress achieved in recent years allows us to have viable alternatives at our disposal that make the use of cruel practices towards animals unnecessary."

2. Gucci

"Do you think that using fur today is still modern? I don't think so, and for this reason we have decided not to use it any more. It is a bit old-fashioned; creativity can come out in many other ways." It is with these words that Gucci's Chief Executive Officer, Marco Bizzarri, proclaimed fur an absolutely out-of-fashion accessory. The maison's decision took effect from the spring/summer 2018 collection.

3. Michael Kors

A few months after Gucci's announcement, another major player in the fashion sector reversed course by declaring that from 2018 it would no longer use any type of animal fur in favour of more innovative solutions: we are talking about Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo, the footwear brand acquired by the group, which focused heavily on researching new techniques capable of replacing animal fur.

4. Versace

"Fur? Enough. I don't want to kill animals for fashion any more. It doesn't seem right to me." With these words, Donatella Versace too had declared in 2018 her intention to embrace the fur-free policy and bid farewell to fur. And she would do so starting from the following year, revolutionising the brand's offering, which historically had always sold garments made with animal fur and leather.

5. Chanel

"The future of luxury goods will come from the know-how of what our atelier is capable of doing." With these words, Bruno Pavlovsky, President of Chanel, declared in December 2018 that the maison would stop producing garments and accessories made from fur and exotic skins, as well as tough leathers such as crocodile, lizard and snake, stating his desire to maintain high ethical standards. The decision was also taken thanks to pressure from animal rights activists.

6. Coach

Coach, the American brand owned by the Tapestry group, announced in 2018 that it would stop using fur in its garments and accessories, and that their complete disappearance would take place from the autumn 2019 collection onwards. "For several years, Coach has been committed to promoting sustainability practices with the introduction of our corporate responsibility goals in 2015 – Joshua Schulman, President and CEO of the brand, had stated in a press release –. At that time we laid the foundations for prioritising social and environmental initiatives. The decision to move towards fur-free production is a truly significant step for the brand."

7. Dkny and Donna Karan

"As we continue our work for Donna Karan and Dkny, we have decided to eliminate fur from the collections of both brands, starting from autumn 2019." These were the words of Morris Goldfarb, Chief Executive Officer of the G-III Apparel group, of which both labels are a part. The decision, tied to a long-standing relationship with the Humane Society of the United States, which campaigns for animal protection, envisaged a complete stop from 2019.

8. Prada

Prada's turn came in 2019, when the group announced a halt to the use of animal fur within the collections of its brands Prada, Miu Miu, Church's and Car Shoe, from 2020. The intention was to promote increasingly ethical and sustainable fashion that upholds animal rights. And as Miuccia Prada, who heads the maison together with her husband Patrizio Bertelli, explained, "the research and development of alternative materials will allow the company to explore new creative frontiers and, at the same time, respond to the demand for more responsible products."

9. Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga

Joining the other brands of the Kering group that had already chosen to safeguard animal rights in the past – Bottega Veneta has been fur-free for nearly two decades – Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga followed suit in April 2021. The group of François-Henri Pinault worked for ten years in tandem with Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States, organisations that campaign for animal protection, to achieve the goal of going fur-free. Within the French group, only two brands are still missing from the roll call, having yet to announce policies moving in this direction: Brioni and Saint-Laurent.

10. Valentino

On 18 May 2021 came the announcement from Valentino, the fashion brand founded in 1960 by Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti, stating that the decision forms part of a broader redefinition of its competitive positioning. Valentino will go fur-free from 2022, and consequently the fur company Valentino Polar, based in Milan and owned by Valentino since 2018, will cease production at the end of 2021. The last collection to include fur will therefore be fall/winter 2021-22. The brand also made it known that it is already seeking and evaluating alternative materials that could replace animal fur, with a view to greater attention towards sustainability and animal rights.

11. Brunello Cucinelli

The latest to join what is now a long list is Brunello Cucinelli: the king of cashmere has confirmed that he will no longer use fur in future collections. The announcement comes from Peta, which held a fruitful dialogue with Cucinelli. The decision also stems from an increasingly targeted corporate strategy in support of sustainability, which constituted the "crucial factor" behind the change of direction.