Chanel sheds crocodile and snake skin

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Chanel has become the first luxury fashion brand to turn its back on exotic pelts from such animals as lizard, crocodile and snake, in a move hailed by animal rights groups Tuesday.

Its head of fashion Bruno Pavlovsky declared that it "would no longer use exotic skins in our future creations", saying it was becoming more difficult to source high-quality pelts ethically.

Handbags, coats and shoes made from snake, alligator and stingray skin command premium prices, with Chanel handbags made from them reportedly selling for up to 9,000 euros (10,300 U.S. dollars).

Animal rights groups hailed Chanel as giving a lead to other luxury brands.

Models walk the runway during the Chanel show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2019 in Paris, France, October 2, 2018. /VCG Photo

By turning its back on exotic skins, "Chanel is saving countless crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and stingrays from suffering," said Claire Bass, director of Humane Society International (HSI).

"The growth in fabulous luxury and eco-friendly fibers that don't involve animals suffering and dying is helping to drive forward this new era of ethical fashion."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also piled the pressure on Vuitton, which is owned by fashion giant LVMH.

"It's clear that the time is now for all companies, like Louis Vuitton, to follow Chanel's lead and move to innovative materials that spare countless animals a miserable life and a violent, painful death," it said.

A model showcases designs on the runway at Grace Chen show on day two of Mercedes-Benz China Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2018/2019 at Beijing Hotel in Beijing, China, March 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

Since 2017, many luxury brands including Gucci, Michael Kors, Versace, and Burberry announced they would go fur-free in a move towards supporting for animal rights.

And now this form of ethical fashion has also come to China. In summer this year, an event called the "Fur-Free and Sustainable Fashion Show and Forum" was held in Shanghai. Several outstanding Chinese designers, including Grace Chen, Maryma, and film star Michael Wong, who has his own fashion brand MW Michael Wong, renounced the use of fur in their future designs.

"As fashion designers, we can come up with plenty of ideas on how to replace the functionality and texture of fur and provide consumers with many alternatives. In China, we only started to protect animals and the environment in recently. We would love using fashion as a common language shared among people, to further promote 'fur-free'," Grace Chen said, according to ACTAsia.

(Top Photo: A model presents a creation by Chanel during a fashion show in Bangkok, Thailand, October 31, 2018. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): AFP