Activist ‘Cats’ Celebrate Fur-Free Catwalks at London Fashion Week
A group of PETA supporters made a vibrant statement at London Fashion Week today to celebrate the news that not a single designer will be showcasing any animal fur on the event’s catwalks this season. It’s clear that compassion is in fashion – and it’s a value that’s here to stay.
Appearing in colourful costumes, the five “cats” boldly illustrated how thrilled PETA is to see the fur industry heading for the history books, especially as modern designers are saying no to pelts and yes to innovative vegan fabrics for which no animals are harmed. 
The majority of people wouldn’t be seen dead in fur nowadays. More and more top international designers – including Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Armani, and others – are 100 per cent fur-free. Our survey of designers with a show or presentation at the February 2018 London Fashion Week found that 95 per cent – including Burberry and Mulberry – didn’t use fur in their autumn/winter 2018 collections, and a recently released poll of designers planning to show during this month’s event has revealed that it’ll be 100 per cent fur-free.
Designers have good reason to be shunning fur. Fur farming is an immensely cruel process in which animals are forced to live in cramped, filthy cages before their skin is torn off in the name of fashion. Living in these conditions – far from their natural environment and with no opportunity to play, jump, run, or do anything else that comes naturally to them – often drives these inquisitive, intelligent animals insane during their short lives. Fighting, self-mutilation, and cannibalism are all too common on fur farms.
The celebratory action comes as cruelty-free fashion makes waves in the industry – Burberry recently announced that it’ll no longer use fur, and forward-thinking companies are embracing vegan alternatives to leather, down, and wool. But even though the vast majority of fashion houses now have strict no-fur policies and Britain introduced a ban on fur farming nearly 20 years ago, the British Fashion Council (BFC) has yet to take decisive action on this important issue.
While designers are doing the right thing by ditching fur, the BFC must also accept the changing times and British values by banning fur at all future events so that it can never again be paraded down the catwalk at London Fashion Week.
What You Can Do
Please join us in urging the BFC to introduce a ban on fur at all its events, then support our other anti-fur campaigns:
Urge the BFC to Ban Fur
Tell Farfetch to Stop Selling Fur
Help Animals in 2026: Renew Your PETA Membership!
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