Victoria Beckham is the latest designer to ban the use of exotic animal skins from her fashion collections, the brand announced on February 12.
The British fashion mogul has maintained a strict no-fur policy across her brand since the start, but this new mandate will exclude her from using snake, crocodile or any other reptile skin. The decision will go into effect starting with her fall-winter 2019 ready-to-wear presentation.
“As a business, we have been looking to action the use of more ethically sourced products that have less environmental impact for some time,” a Victoria Beckham brand spokesperson told WWD. “This decision reflects the wishes of not only the brand, but also that of our customers.”
Back in December 2018, Chanel announced that the brand would no longer use furs or animal skins as well. Citing the difficulty they had in sourcing quality materials that met the brand’s ethical standards as the reason for the decision.
This progression into more ethically sustainable fashion is much to the delight of PETA. “Victoria Beckham’s decision to ban exotic skins will spare countless remarkable animals immense suffering,” the PETA director Elisa Allen, told WWD. “And PETA calls on other luxury brands to follow her kind example.”
Along with Chanel, Vivienne Westwood and Diane von Furstenberg have also banned the use exotic skins. And while designers like Coach, Versace, Michael Kors, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo and Burberry have ceased the use of fur, they have yet to call-off the use of any reptile skins.
It will take time for the existing Victoria Beckham items made with these materials to leave distribution, including a Genuine Python New Simple Shopper Tote sold on Nordstrom. But we’re excited to see how she fills the missing space with new, ethical fashion.
