Donatella Versace, the artistic director of her family's fashion house Versace, announced yesterday that the luxury brand would be ending their use of fur.
"Fur? I am out of that," Versace said to The Economist's 1843 magazine. "I don’t want to kill animals to make fashion. It doesn’t feel right."
This may come as a surprise to Versace patriots, who know that the fashion house is founded on excess and opulence. Gianni Versace, the brand's founder and original creative force, often employed such flamboyant materials as gold and chain-link in his designs. His fearless and ornamental style situated the House as the rockstars of high fashion in the 90's.
Despite Donatella's announcement, the company has not yet formally stated that they're phasing out fur. The Versace website still sells fur, like this $1,450 rabbit cushion, and their 2017 Autumn-Winter line featured colored shearlings and laser-cut mink coats with fox insets.
If Versace does indeed stop using fur, the fashion house will join luxury brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and Stella McCartney who also pledged to shed their fur. Gucci announced just this past fall that they too would forego fur.
Perhaps compassion has become the next big trend in high-fashion.