Actor Ricky Gervais and singer Pink joined an anti-fur protest at New York Fashion Week in early September 2022, when a video titled “Stolen For Fashion”, produced by the animal rights organisation PETA and shown in a vehicle driving around the Spring Studios location, featured the voices of these celebrities as animals who have been skinned for their skin.
The video shows a computer-generated crocodile voiced by Pink, and a rabbit voiced by Ricky Gervais, alive but missing their skin. When a human actor indignantly claims that she “paid a lot of money” for her designer handbag made from their skin, the animals reply that they have “paid a lot more.” The back of the vehicle where the video was displayed had an ad reading “Animals Pay the Ultimate Price for ‘Fashion.’ Wear Vegan.”
PETA launched its campaign specifically to protest against Fendi (owned by LVMH), which still uses fur and exotic skins. Tracy Reiman, PETA US’ executive vice president, said, “Fur and skins are the bits and pieces of sensitive animals who didn’t want to die, and in 2022, there’s no excuse to dress like a Neanderthal. PETA is calling on New York Fashion Week to showcase the vegan fabrics and designs that show respect for animals and the environment.” London Fashion Week ditched fur in 2018, marking the first major event to do so, and then Amsterdam, Helsinki, Oslo, and Copenhagen Fashion Weeks followed suit. It is surprising that a city like New York, with a pescatarian mayor (Eric Adams) who has been promoting plant-based diets, has not caught up on this issue and the issue of horse-drawn carriages yet — perhaps because he is a pescatarian rather than an ethical vegan.
