Luxury fashion house Gucci has pledged to go fur-free from 2018, as announced by parent firm Kering at an industry event.
Gucci chief executive Marco Bizzarri told a London College of Fashion event that the move was part of a commitment to “sustainability”.
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The change means that the Italian fashion will no longer use mink, coyote, raccoon dog, fox, rabbit and all others species specially bred or caught in its fashion and accessories collections from Spring/Summer 2018.
Gucci’s remaining animal fur items will be sold at auction, with the proceeds going to animal rights organisations Humane Society International and LAV.
“Being socially responsible is one of Gucci’s core values, and we will continue to strive to do better for the environment and animals,” Bizzarri told the UK fashion industry audience, as part of his firm’s Kering Talks.
And the move is a welcome one for Gucci creative director – and Kering’s hailed designer darling – Alessandro Michele, whose stance on fur-free fashion was a factor in his 2015 hire, according to Bizzarri.
“In selecting a new creative director, I wanted to find someone who shared a belief in the importance of the same values. I sensed that immediately on meeting Alessandro for the first time,” said the executive.
The news follows a series of fur-free promises from several influential brands and retailers. This includes Armani, Hugo Boss and Yoox-Net-A-Porter all having axed fur products from their offer.
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Gucci’s revival – lead by Michele – has been steering the Kering group revenue wheel this fiscal year. In July, the French luxury group delivered a forecast-beating rise in first-half operating profit of 1.274 billion euros, up a staggering 57.1 percent.
Second quarter comparable sales at Gucci, which makes over 60 per cent of Kering’s profit, rose 39.3 percent, beating analysts’ expectations of 32 per cent growth.
This compared with already spectacular growth of 48.3 percent achieved in the first quarter.