Italian luxury fashion brand Valentino is going fur-free by 2022 with the closing of Valentino Polar, its fur subsidiary, to bring its collections into these modern times.
“The fur-free stance is perfectly in-line with the values of our company. We are moving full-steam ahead in the research for alternative materials in view of a greater attention to the environment for the upcoming collections.”
Valentino CEO Jacopo Venturini
In 2019, the animal-rights group Humane Society met with Valentino to discuss their fur policy. After the discussion, they praised the brand's commitment to no longer use animal material in their collections.
Valentino is joining an extensive number of luxury designers which includes Balenciaga, Prada, Alexander McQueen, Gucci, and many more.
In addition to luxury designers renouncing fur, major retailers have elected to remove it from their racks too. Since 2019, Macy's stopped selling fur at all of its retail outlets, including all Macy's and Bloomingdale's private brands along with Macy's, Inc. discount stores. Similarly, Nordstrom announced last year that it will end the sale by the end of 2021 at all of its properties and e-commerce sites. Last February, Saks Fifth Avenue committed to stopping selling fur across its properties by the end of 2022.
Legislation to ban the manufacture and sale of fur is also starting to make a presence in governmental bodies. In 2019, California became the first state to prohibit the sale and manufacture of fur statewide and both New York and Oregon are also considering fur bans.
Influential design houses such as Valentino moving away from fur sales set a precedent for what fashion will look like in the future. As the world's top designers are leading the change with fur-free fashion.
