This is actually one of my favorite lists of all of the year-end lists. Every year, PETA compiles their list of the “worst-dressed” celebrities. It has nothing to do with fashion, though. It’s all about who wore fur or any kind of animal skin. Call me a hypocrite, but I think it’s totally unnecessary to wear fur, but I don’t see why people (or PETA) get worked up over various leathers. Leather is okay in my book, which means that a half-dressed PETA representative (probably a totally drunk and jacked Pamela Anderson) will be picketing my house in ten seconds. But fur? Why do people even wear fur anymore? Yeah, it’s cold. Put on a lambswool sweater. NOOOO!!!
Kate Moss, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Elizabeth Hurley are used to dominating society’s best-dressed lists. But this week they will find themselves topping a more dishonourable fashion list.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) Foundation has drawn up a roll call of the fashion world’s Worst Dressed Celebrities based on their penchant for pelts. The Duchess of Cornwall and Shirley Bassey will also grace the list, as will football Wags Coleen Rooney and Alex Gerrard, and the singer Rihanna.
The “winner”, to be chosen in an online poll, will be announced in February by Stella McCartney, a vegetarian who refuses to use any leather and fur in her designs.
The award is considered to be a powerful weapon in the fight against fur. Last year Paris Hilton and Christina Ricci announced a change of heart about wearing it after being nominated. “I never meant to hurt nor anger anyone with my insensitivity,” said Ricci. “For what it is worth, I have received the message loud and clear and will not be wearing fur in the future. I apologize for my offensive actions.”
Moss is hot favourite to win this year in recognition of her collection of fur coats, sealskin Mukluk boots, rabbit-skin bedspreads and sheepskin rugs. Elizabeth Hurley is also tipped as a likely winner after agreeing to pose in a selection of mink coats for fur house Blackglama.
“Among the most vulgar offenders this year is Catherine Zeta-Jones, who can’t seem to leave her room in New York without covering herself head to toe in the dried-out skins of several species – not just fur coats but leather pants and crocodile bags,” said Dan Mathews, vice-president of Peta. “She looks more like a serial killer than a star. We’ve written to Rihanna in the hope that the furs she’s been flaunting are fake, but it seems the cat’s got her tongue. The Duchess of Cornwall, not to be thwarted by the fox-hunting ban, has gone hunting in her grannie’s wardrobe. Then there’s the old guard like Shirley Bassey, who has a skin-crawling fashion sense. Elizabeth Hurley’s wardrobe is now as dead as her film career.”
A growing list of fashion icons have sworn off fur, from Carla Bruni and Michelle Obama to Pink and Lady Gaga. But times have changed since the early 1990s, when supermodels such as Naomi Campbell declared they would rather go naked than wear fur.
Now Campbell fronts a campaign for the furrier Dennis Basso – and campaigners admit that, on the catwalk and the high street, the trend is hotter than it has been for years.
Fur coats made an appearance during the New York, London and Milan fashion weeks. Karl Lagerfeld covered motorcycle helmets with mink and chinchilla. Dolce & Gabbana added bright pink fur sleeves to jackets. Fur also featured prominently in the collections of Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Prada.Last month French Vogue featured the Brazilian supermodel Raquel Zimmermann in a flurry of fur. Keira Knightley attended an awards ceremony in a karakul lambskin coat and Jennifer Lopez makes no secret of her fondness for mink and chinchilla.
Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue, is unapologetically pro-fur, running positive editorials and fur-themed photo shoots. “Fur is still part of fashion,” Wintour said this year, “so Vogue will continue to report on it.”
Celebrities’ enthusiasm for fur has seen sales rocket. In 2007, fur sales worldwide totalled $16.5bn, up by 11% on the previous year, following nine years of continuous growth. Last year the fur trade contributed $21bn to the global economy.
Campaigners admit they are concerned that the industry is winning its fight to redefine fur as something worn by chic, edgy kids rather than the sort of moth-eaten, fusty choice made by traditional grandmothers.
“Young people are more comfortable showing their love of fur,” said Mathews. “Hopefully, our Worst Dressed Award will wake these cold-hearted celebs up to the truth about fur.”
[From The Guardian]
Sigh. My mother had a rabbit’s fur coat. I remember it vividly. It wasn’t the prettiest thing, but it was crazy warm. I think she ended up giving it away several years ago, but that was just because she wanted more space in her coat closet. Anyway, my favorites of the offenders are the people who used to swear they wouldn’t wear fur, and now do. Can you really love fur that much? Think of the bunnies! And the other little furry woodland creatures. Sob!
Rihanna in December, performing in fur in New York. Catherine Zeta-Jones on December 20, 2009 in New York, wearing mink, maybe? Kate Moss on November 13, 2009 in London. Elizabeth Hurley on December 13, 2009. The Duchess of Cornwall on November 25, 2009 (I couldn’t find a photo of her wearing fur, but I just liked that picture). Credit for all: WENN.
Go fur.
My Great Grandfather imported fur from Russia, I would never wear fur, I find it ugly on peope, and it is a despicable and cruel practice. The people who wear it are not edgy but are complete morons.
It does take a genuis IQ to figuire out how much the animals have to suffer for their fur to be literally ripped from their bodies. Anna wintour and her fashion cronies will burn in hell for promoting fur.
I also see a lot of dog and cat fur as trimmings on cheap winter Jackets, that is absolutely gross.
Interesting that Stella hasn’t put Anna Wintour or Carine Roitfield on her list. But then why single out two of the most influential pro fur fashion editors in the world when their influence extends to you ?
What a cop out response from Anna– “its still popular, so we’re reporting on it!” as if it isn’t HER coverage that helps to keep it in demand.
Boo fur. It looks and smells bad and is often itchy. Just get some gd flannel if ur that desperate for warmth. My family comes from Russia and my grandma had a fur, but I would never. Talk about outdated.
yea,well,they can use sheep instead of sheepskin…and still get the warmth of the sheep’s fur when they are shorn each season. They sell baby blankets like this,backed with flannel,which are a great alternative to torturing animals for their fur.
As for the other animals,unless you live in mongolia and have no life beyond a yurt and yak milk,in which case you are entitled to a fur coat to survive,then you have no need for fur. I agree,there are great alternatives for warmth now a days.
The only way I’d ever wear fur would be if I’d killed the critter myself and then used its meat to sustain myself while camped out in the wild or something. One time when I was in Canada, I saw this amazingly beautiful beaver-fur vest that I almost bought, but then I thought, y’know, what happened to the beaver? Was it raised just for its fur? Was it mistreated? I didn’t know, so I didn’t feel right purchasing it.
If other people want to wear fur, that’s their right. PETA infuriates me because their members will throw paint on fur coats or ruin them in another way, and it’s just like…dude, that’s illegal, you’re destroying someone’s property. Why don’t I go key your car, you asshole, see how you like it?
What about Goldie and her lil sis Kate? She gets a big FU from me. What really pisses me off about Goldie Hawn is that she has dogs. She does not deserve the warmth and love of a live animal.
What is the difference between wearing fur and leather? I’m actually not asking to be devils advocate. I’m asking because I don’t actually understand the difference in morality there.
I don’t wear fur, because it’s gaudy. But I do wear leather.
And I’ve yet to understand the difference between ripping the ‘skin’ off an animal vs. ripping the ‘fur’ off an animal.
Both seem about the same.
Peach. Because anti-fur campaigns have better marketing. That’s my guess
I’m from the north, I wear fur. It’s warm and deals with snow very well. I ride my harley.. I wear leather and it deals with road rash well.
I think we do whatever we are mentally and psychologically comfortable doing. I don’t like leather or fur, don’t wear either actually since I think they both smell bad and I feel bad wearing them. I do not have such problems with wool, yet it is a product of an animal. Such contradictory souls we humans are!
what about the shoes in stella mccartney collection??are they plastic????dummy of course she wears leather!!!this is sooo hyppocrit ,and until hunting is forbidden,well wear furs!!!! at least they arent die for nothing!!and honestly at this point i still care more about child misery than animals,oops sorry
Well Myself, if you did your research before calling other people dummies, you would know that she never uses ANY kind of animal furs or skins. Her shoes are mostly made out of rubber. Your probably the kind of person who gets a dog and then ties it to a tree, or drops it off in a remote area when it acts badly. We are’nt in the dark ages anymore we don’t need animal furs and skins to survive. If your so concerned about miserable or abused children, why don’t you take all the money you would spend on fur coats or leather shoes and donate it to a children’s charity. Your ridiculous.
For all the processed alternatives that are provided now, I wonder how the animal rights activists feel knowing the manufacturing of these items is probably polluting the environment that both animals and humans share.
PETA need to be put down already (pun intended). There are more rational and sane animal rights groups that deserve more attention, especially those who try to find homes for pets as opposed to euthanizing them.
love fur, love leather… i dont own many pieces but theyre very good for cold weather and last for many seasons. i understand that people feel for the animals but i find people who eat meat and protest fur hypocritical. i also feel like petas campaigns target the wrong people and they could use their money more wisely on actually helping animals.
Yeah. Kate.
You go gurl.
Wear as much fur as you want, so long as you keep rocking that bod and flashing your girlie parts.
Peach: Your question is quite valid. The problem with fur is that it comes from animals that are not used for meat, or anything else for that matter. To make a fur coat several animals are needed, and after they are skinned (often alive) their carcasses are just thrown away.
Chinese fur industry is the most barbaric industry in the world. They believe that to maintain the quality of the furs, it is best to skin animals alive, and they do so, leaving teh animal completely skinned and bleeding to death. The animals do not die instantly, but often take 5-10 minutes. There are videos of this practice around, but I do not recommend watching them unless you have a very strong stomach (http://www.peta.org/feat/chineseFurFarms/index.asp).
I hate PETA and think they are publicity whores, but on the live-skinning campaign I think they are right. I challenge anyone who thinks fur is ok, to see the vidoe where a SKINNED animal looks at the camera bleeding through the whole of its body and shivering, and tell me IT’S OK.
Other popular methods of killing animals for fur, so as not to ruin the quality include anal and vaginal electrocution….
I am not an activist, but I do wonder if you need to be an activist or a vegeterian to understand this is too cruel for a coat….
@ all those who wonder about “fur vs. leather” and the “meat-eating” debate:
My husband and I look at it like this: I don’t eat red meat (rarely even chicken or fish, and only because I’m nursing) but I do wear leather shoes; he eats red meat and doesn’t wear much leather. When he asked me about that, I said to him “Well, they have to do something w/ the left overs of the cow you’re eating!” And that was the end of it in our house.
What Abi (above) said is perfect, and cannot be said better.
Also, there are now vegetarian leathers (don’t ask me how), which are becoming more widely available to those interested in them.
@GatsbyGal I don’t necessarily disagree with you, but I think the whole point of paint throwing e.t.c, is that people who wear fur are taking away animal’s rights, as they are helpless and utterly at our mercy. So this is like giving people a tiny dose of their own medicine.
I spose you really have to be on the animals side to agree, but if I were one the least I’d wanna do is throw paint at someone. In fact, after thinking about it, I totally defend PETA’s right to throw paint! I love cute bunnies more than fucking Vogue.
@GatsbyGal: That beaver fur vest reminds me of Mr Burns’ song in that Simpsons episode. “See my vest, see my vest”… Damn, now I’ve got it stuck in my head.
@Abi:
Thanks for the info. I am NOT going to watch that video. My imagination will do the work for me, and honestly, I can’t look at a live skinned animal right now. My dog is sick. I’m sensitive.
So in leather other parts are used. In fur they are tossed AND animals are skinned alive.
Good enough reason not to wear it.
I have a general rule: If I cannot watch it I cannot consume it. I’ve seen animals killed for meat. I’ve seen animals skinned for leather. But I cannot manage to even get close to skinning animals alive. That makes my skin crawl.
No furs for me.
One of my favorite one-liners:
“People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it is easier to harass wealthy women than motorcycle gangs.”
I’d rather wear fur than polyester any day.
I read an interesting article a couple years ago that talked about fur from a purely ecological standpoint. It’s conclusion was that it takes much fewer resources, and there’s a lot less by-waste from making a fur coat than making a synthetic coat.
That said, I’m a strict vegetarian who only buys used leather shoes (and only because I can wear them, literally, for a decade before I need to replace them). If you think the way fur animals are treated is cruel, you should be reconsidering your consumption of all animal products (particularly meat) that aren’t purchased cruelty-free (like from a free-range local farm).
“It does take a genuis IQ to figuire out how much the animals have to suffer for their fur to be literally ripped from their bodies.”
And it apparently also takes a genius IQ to figure out that the animals are not alive when they are skinned.
D-uh.
WTF: I suggest you google “live skinning” or “fur farming in China”. Animals DO get skinned alive sadly…
They’re all crappy dressers especially when you consider all the money they have.
@Peach, the way I see it, the difference is that leather comes from animals that we raise and kill to eat. We’re not ripping the skin off cows to wear so we look good, and leaving everything else.
Plus, some of the animals that are killed for their fur are endangered, or close to it. You won’t see cows or sheep going endangered anytime soon.
Hope you realize, just because what you’re wearing isn’t made from animal bits and pieces doesn’t mean there wasn’t some suffering involved. Chances are your nylon jacket and polyurethane sneakers were manufactured using child labor 😛
nice tricks to play wow .Thanks for the video.
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