The french site, Pure Trend explored people's attitudes about wearing fur in an article accompanied by wonderful photomontages. The artwork features Pullip dolls in actual clothing by fashion designers such as Stella McCartney, Giles Deacon, Marc Jacobs and more.
The article expresses typical answers, reasons, excuses and attitudes toward wearing fur by defining various stances and positions on the controversial issue... from all out fur lovers to fanatical animal activists.
To best share this with you, I have first placed images from the article (cropped) below. Followed by a translation of the article (it's in French, I did my best). I then found the original runway shots of the couture clothes, most of which are from the designers' ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 2009 collections and placed them side by side with the Blythe dolls for you.
Please click on the photos below to enlarge.
Below is the French to English translation of the article by Jean Cauvin, so please excuse some things that sound wonky. I tried my best to edit and clarify without screwing up the content, so please bear with me:
In the quarrel between pro-fur and anti-fur, how to choose your side? Between respect for animals and sustainable development, it's not always easy to take the arguments seriously and they are often contradictory.
Puretrend exemplifies various attitudes without exclusion. We should be able to coexist in the sphere of "socially acceptable" as we adopt one or other of the typical attitudes and behavoir. They justify a range of feelings; from consistent harmony to as far as the barbaric cruelty of a terrorist.
1. "I do not care what happens to the animals. I am for the fur, even wild animals, domestic or protected."
The global concerns, protection of wildlife or domestic animals does not matter to you. "If man dominates nature, it is proof that he is called to a role as King of predators. Protected animals? Nonsense!" This is not going to prevent you from wearing monkey. You claim to be "vintage", recalling the time in which it was allowed to trade in skins of chimpanzees or panther. You do not care that the jacket you wear is the result of hunting poachers who may have left one or more infants of protected species die in their natural environment without their mother, who was shot to make her skin a shine on your shoulders.
Similarly, you spat upon the provisions in force in the European Community since December 31, 2008 concerning the prohibition of all trade in skins of cats and dogs. Besides, when you visit a friend who has a beautiful Angora cat, you can not help thinking that his skin would make you a nice scarf.
Your model?
Cruella of "101 Dalmatians". Your supply of skins comes from China, a country known to be less choosy about the treatment of the animals, poaching, slaughter.
2. "I question the consequences of the protection of certain species of marine animals."
You've heard the hunters and fishermen of Newfoundland, Canada, telling us that the schools of cod are devastated because of the hunting of seals. You fear that the public is overly sensitive to this and doesn't realize that, via the communications of animal activists since the 70's about the massacre of baby seals, we've threatened the ecological balance at the global level. You would not want to threaten Inuit communities and make them abandon of their traditional lifestyle.
You're afraid that schools of cod are devastated by a population of seals that would have tripled and that the presence of a parasite in the feces can also contaminate the fish that you could ingest. You are against the hunting of baby seals (the non-autonomous pups under 12 days old in the white fur) but you are not reluctant to wear something in gray fur seals, because you have your arguments.
3. "I'm for the ethical fur"
All the wildlife you are wearing is the fur of farm animals (mink, other mustelids, foxes, raccoons) whose traceability is guaranteed and identifiable via the label "Origin Assured". You feel you are a responsible consumer of fur.
For you, the quality of treatment of farm animals is an imperative, maintaining populations of farmers in different regions undergoing desertification affects you as much as the fate of wildlife. You make sure the euthanasia of these animals for breeding is done with the least possible suffering. You are convinced that the rearing conditions did not affect the evolution of the species, you ensure that the feeding of animals for fur comes from recycled sources and that their manure is transformed into fertilizer.
You love the feel of fur and rejoice in new techniques of furriers and furriers to make skin lighter.
You marvel at the creations of fashion designers (Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Dior, Givenchy, Anne Valerie Hash, Vauthier Alexandre, Julien Fournié ...) to some of the creators of ready-to-wear (Rick Owens, Sonia Rykiel, Michael Kors, Antonio Berardi, Alexis Mabille, Quentin Véron, T. Paris Requiem by Paul & Joe ...) fur trimmed, embedded, degraded, shaved, mixed textiles of all backgrounds and techniques. This revival started by Frédéric Castet, senior director of fur at Christian Dior in 1968 found a second wind from the 80s, thanks to new techniques developed in the Design Center Saga Furs in Denmark. The lightness, warmth and softness of the clothes seem incomparable to you.
4. "I wear that fur is recycled."
You do like fur, but don't want to wear animals that are killed to expressly make a piece of your clothing. You love the idea of recycling, which can adapt to the fur. The old beaver coat of your mom's could well become a jacket, a hat, mittens, a bag at the forefront of the trend, and combine in a perfect fur, recycling and sustainable development. You feel that the mark of Harricana Quebec, working in this sector for over 20 years, should have more followers.
5. "I wear the fur of animals slaughtered for food purposes."
You wouldn't think of wearing a jacket hood lined with raccoon. You prefer the fleecy skin (or sheepskin). You know that colt and ox leather skin is hairy , and the "Mongolian goat" is, mostly, lamb. You therefore agree to wear these since the skins come from recycling the remains of animals used in food.
This is also why, you avoid the deer leather and fur but agree that rabbit fur comes from a smart recovery of this which would increase the volume of waste. You do not see any difference between the use of fur and that of feather duvets, Waterfowl or edible birds in the lining of your jacket or Pyrenex Moncler. You also made the war on smuggling skins of cats or dogs that you could make for fur leporidae edible. You find, however, Isabel Marant has done well to offer a leopard print on the rabbit for this winter.
6. "I do not wear animal skin with hair or that is wild."
For you, luxury does not rhyme with fur. You love the repertoire of Chanel... you refuse fur, but you tolerate feathers and smooth leathers. You replace obvious fur with sophisticated tweeds, embroideries, laces, elegant finishes.
At Lanvin, you can accept the hats and dresses with feathers. You enjoy the nippled ostrich leather, since you've tasted the delicate meat. At Hermès, you love calfskin leather, because you refuse to aviator jackets in fleece. Paradoxical, but you justify the lambskin, stripped of its hair, because you do not want to offend the anti-fur and leather activists and having a smooth appearance helps.
You can also have a weakness for the lizard-style leather (leather mammalian pressed to replicate the look of these reptiles), but not the skins of actual lizards or pythons.
7. "I am boycotting all leather, feathers, stingray, crocodile. My shoes are plastic. Besides, I'm vegetarian."
You absolutely never want to eat any animal. Having to kill a living being to satisfy a need for food or fashion is something you can not tolerate. You only eat fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, pasta and, maybe, dairy.
You also banished from your wardrobe and your home all leather, even for shoes. You do not accept shagreen (stingray leather or dogfish, used in cabinetmaking, Gainers, and leather goods), nor any leather. You know that when it comes to leather "plant" it is still an animal skin and the "plant" refers only to the method of tanning.
The sofa in your living room is in fabric or imitation leather, the lining of your quilt is a synthetic fiber, and your jacket is fleece, because you do not approve of the down of goose, duck or other birds that are slaughtered.
The only animal fiber that you will wear is wool. Nothing in its appearance reminds you of its origin and no animal has been euthanized to make the sweater or fabric of your coat. You look forward to the "shoes of Plants" by Stella McCartney, promised for next year. Even if you wear fur, you prefer the synthetic hair wig or what look like 'wigs' in the work of of Jean-Charles de Castelbajac or Maison Martin Margiela. Strictly speaking, faux fur with strong colors can be appropriate for the plush reminiscence of childhood it evokes.
8. "I hate fur, even artificial. I prefer recycled fleece."
Even if it is synthetic fur, the idea of promoting the fur of any animal is something you dislike. Your position is radical: no fur, that's all! Fleece is not the most luxurious or the most aesthetic materials, but you prefer it to anything else to keep warm. Moreover, since it is synthetic fur, it can be recycled when it is damaged.
You applaud the creativity of Moloko brand that has given to this issue its letters of nobility. You have environmental concerns about petroleum in textiles and you are about to join the activists who will liberate mink on farms without realizing the negative consequences of these actions on biodiversity ...
The introduction of invasive species in a region where they are not present , like mink in the Dordogne this fall, could be fatal to certain species of local wildlife or protected animals." You also minimize the stress of "liberation" that can cause the death of a significant proportion of these animals.
It's simple, you prefer only the natural death of these animals, because you love them too much to ever accept that man continues to shoot them. --- Jean Paul Cauvin for Pure Trend
What the dolls are wearing:
above: Jersey swimsuits by Vilsbol de Arce, Fendi boots, Sonia Rykiel headbands/hats, Fox coat by Requiem for T.Paris
above: Julien Fournié finn raccoon coat for Royal Saga furs. Leather pants and boots by Yves Saint Laurent .
above: Moncler Gamme Rouge jacket, leather pants by Stella Mc Cartney, leather gloves by Lanvin
above: Rabbit fur leopard printed jacket, pants and tee, all by Isabel Marant
above: Fur coat, leather pants and boots, all by Stella McCartney
above: Michael Kors dyed Fox coat and leather thigh high boots by Louis Vuitton
above: Wool cape by Marc Jacobs, wool pants and leather boots by Balmain
above: Blouse, skirt and boots by Giles Deacon
above: Andy Warhol dress with synthetic hair by Jean Charles de Castelbajac
above: Sonia Rykiel pale pin fur coat
dolls shown are Pullip Dolls. all images courtesy of puretrend and fashion images courtesy of New York magazine.