Fashion Week in Milan: Animal rights activists protest against fur

Fur coats, flashy fringe, plus lavish gold jewelry: the “Mob Wife” trend has been dominating social media for a few weeks now, the look that is reminiscent of the Italian chic of criminal wives and is something like the antithesis of reserved fashion. Stars like Dua Lipa and Kendall Jenner have long been dressing as if they had stepped out of mafia series like “The Sopranos” or “Griselda”. Looking like a gangster bride – it’s the look of the hour.

Will Fendi jump on this mass hype? A question that many people asked themselves right at the start of the Milan shows. After all, the Italian luxury brand is famous for its furs. A winter collection without mink and perisans? Unthinkable. But Fendi creative director Kim Jones had something else in mind.

Luxury ladies instead of “mob wives”

Instead of wickedly dressed “mob wives,” he sent models down the catwalk as colorfully dressed luxury ladies. Although they mostly wore dark outfits, Jones added accents with colorful shoes and bags. He didn’t find inspiration in the Binchen series, but in the Fendi archives. There he discovered sketches from 1984, when life in London was shaped by different movements: by the “Blitz Kids” of the club scene at the time and the “New Romantics” musicians, as well as by royal and Japanese influences. “It was a time when British subcultures and styles were going global and you were absorbing influences from everywhere,” Jones said of his show’s eclectic look.

Although fur details appeared in his collection, this time there were no lush fur coats. However, it didn’t stop two activists from the animal protection organization Peta from storming the catwalk. One had the words “Wear Your Own Skin” and “Turn Your Back on Animal Skins” painted on her chest and back, while the other protested with a “Animals are not Clothing” sign. In fact, Fendi is one of the last brands that still relies on fur. Most people have long since given up on real fur or at least opt ​​for fake fur.

Milan without animal rights activists? Unthinkable!

Although the security guards had difficulty maneuvering the two activists off the catwalk, the troublemaker did not affect the other spectators in the hall. Many didn’t even twitch an eyebrow. Whether at Hermès, Gucci or Chanel – fashion shows have been hijacked by activists more and more often in recent seasons in order to make their protest against fur and exotic leather known to the media. They are almost part of the inventory – even if that would of course never come across the lips of a representative of Peta or a luxury brand.

You could see frowns despite botoxed faces at Roberto Cavalli’s show. The brand was once considered the jet set’s favorite label; diva robes with a leopard pattern characterized its style. Fausto Puglisi, Cavalli’s current designer, now wants to build on this again. His collection was also based on the typical animal print, but he abstracted it in dark colors and with a marbled pattern.

But the applause for his collection was only moderate when, at the end of the show, the models walked down the catwalk to music and hard bass from Rammstein. Puglisi had chosen the song “Lead Me”, lines like “When I bleed, you’re in pain” whispered from the speakers. Many guests also felt this symbolically. It wasn’t just the German speakers who were irritated, the scandal surrounding the abuse allegations against lead singer Till Lindemann had also made international headlines.

Hard sounds from Rammstein

Although there are many Rammstein fans in Italy, even without the scandal, the band’s hard basses and lyrics glorifying violence would have seemed out of place. What Puglisi wanted to say with his choice of music? He has not yet commented on this. Some guests suspected it was a marketing trick: if you wanted to stand out between the shows of hyped labels such as Fendi, Gucci or Bottega Veneta, you should adopt a harder tone in the style of Roberto Cravalli. A permitted means, but still: bad style.