The fashion industry was always connected to animal cruelty, as it uses animal skin and fur for garment creation. The Paris fashion show ended, but a drama about one particular show continued. One fashion brand, designed by a US designer called Daniel Roseberry, raised a debate among animal rights activists and people from the fashion industry.
What made this show stand out from other shows is that this designer decided to put artificial animal heads on the gowns as an accessory. The animal heads were super realistic, looking like real animals.
Many famous models walked down the runway in these dresses, like Naomi Campbell, Irina Shayk, and Shalom Harlow. Naomi was wearing an artificial dark wolf coat, while Shalom had a snow leopard on her dress. Kylie Jenner was sitting in the first row and wore the same gown as Irina Shayk on the runway – a black gown with a big artificial lion head on the top corner.
#cancelkyliejenner #cancelschiaparelli for promoting wild life hunting
— Sweet n' Sour (@uncafenparis) January 23, 2023
Cruelty to animals and cruelty to humans are two sides of the same page on which history is written in blood.
Ulrich Erckenbrecht
Their realistic animal heads were raising a lot of eyebrows. Some people were really offended because this was immediately connected will animal poaching. They found it quite disturbing and creepy, presenting something that should not be okay. Others loved it and saw it as a “fight” against animal poaching. Some people viewed this show as some way of expression and art. Animal activists see it as one more way to address animal cruelty in fashion. Opinions are different on this topic, and people are still making statements so lets dive into details.
Also Read: Did You Know Eating Meat is Also Animal Abuse?
What was the show actually about?
The controversial creator of this show explained that those animals presented Lust, Price, and Acarice from Dante’s Inferno, which was the official theme of the show. He explained that he wanted to portray the whole story tale metaphorically by saying ‘Nothing is as it appears to be,’ the controversial designer quoted.
Many people started defending the designer and the fashion show, arguing that animals are artificial, even the models wearing the garments. Irina Shayk stated on her Instagram that she supports artists who worked with their hands and sculpted these artificial animals, which should represent strength. Kylie Jenner also stated on her social media that the animals were fake and no real animals are harmed.
But were those animals really artificial?
Everyone says those animals were artificial and no animals were used, but is that statement entirely true? The garments come from foam, silk, and wool. So animals were, in fact, used for this project. According to PETA, 3000 silkworms die for just one pound of wool. Another issue, also addressed by PETA, is that many sheep are killed, injured, and left to die in the wool production industry. They even used famous pop star Pink to support the whole wool campaign.
However, the biggest shock was that PETA actually approved this show. Officials from the organization even complimented the show for taking the first step toward an animal-friendly garment.
On the other hand, people on social media went crazy, and there were already hundreds of hashtags to ban the brand. People are commenting that this show actually glorifies the killing of animals in the industry where we still use fur.
As The Cut reports, Dan O’Neill, a wildlife film producer, said: “We have to stop showing animals as luxury ‘products’: They may be from foam, but these are endangered species that were killed through history for their pelts to turn into garments.”
Journalist, Suzanne Baum, said that representing animal products that way treats them as “things”, which promotes the hunting of animals as everyone would like to have a piece of them in their home. She explains that even more terrifying is that someone made them look so realistic.
There is still an ongoing debate. Some comments even seek an apology from the designer, while others support him. The fact that celebrities supported the designer, who have a massive impact on social media, raises questions – was it a good or bad promotion?
Trophy hunting issue:
Besides animal cruelty in fashion, animals get killed for trophy hunting. Trophy hunting is a brutal practice in which hunters pay to kill wild animals for “fun” and for the trophy. Trophies are animal body parts that hunters keep. Besides trophy hunting, which is still legal, there are poachers and illegal hunters. They endangered so many species that some of them are not able to recover anymore (like white rhinos).
The consequences of trophy hunting are enormous. It destroys the whole ecosystem through the imbalance in the male and female ratio. It lowers genetic diversity and changes the population dynamics.
These are some of the disturbing trophy-hunting facts published by HumanSociety.org
- Trophy hunters contribute at most 0.03 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and at most 0.76 percent of overall tourism jobs.
- Most trophy hunters are American. There is a Safari Club International, which promotes the mindless slaughter of wildlife for sport. They are offering their members the opportunity to compete to win nearly 50 awards for killing animals.
- The most hunted animals are elephants, lions, rhinos, and leopards.
- Killing the strongest male will result in additional deaths. Because when a dominant African lion gets killed, females and cubs are vulnerable to a hostile pride takeover by another male, who will kill the previous lion’s cubs.
- Killing the strongest males may also negatively impact people. Juveniles who are more daring, less experienced, and prone to killing livestock may move into the area.
- Trophy hunting is also plagued by the issue of “canned hunting” through commercial operations that essentially breed lions to be shot in captivity.
Conclusion
As long as animals are artificial, that is a good move in the fashion industry. The fashion industry was always connected to animal cruelty, as it was using their skin and fur for clothing creation. However, it is becoming more conscious in the past few years when using real animals. When it comes to this particular show, it is on the individual how it will portray it. But, an argument that animals were not used in the creation of these garments, then that statement is a lie since the material came from animals. Trophy hunting is a major issue in wildlife because it harms animals and destroys whole ecosystems. That is why everything that mimics such barbaric practice should be avoided.
What is your opinion about this fashion show?
