Karl Lagerfeld

“Fake fur pollutes the world more than anything else. Fur is an industry. It’s legal. The idea that people don’t like it — I understand. But as long as they use leather and eat meat, I don’t see that it’s a problem.

“It’s more and more difficult to make fur collections. You can hardly find expensive furs. You have to do shearlings and shaved mink and things like this because it’s impossible to find sable, it’s very, very difficult. Because, you know, sable and ermine — you cannot farm. People who want to suppress the fur industry — if they have enough money to make an income for all the people who work in that industry, OK. I see it going nowhere.”

Miuccia Prada

“This subject would need very lengthy discussion, and once you approach fur you should possibly approach the larger issue of sustainability and the environment and maybe much more, all issues that our company is committed to. I have always preferred doing, acting, instead of making announcements: Of course, we are researching and analyzing the possibilities very seriously, and I have stopped showing fur on the catwalk. The subject is serious and has to be addressed, but let’s not forget it’s a small part of a much bigger picture that needs the same attention.”

Anna Sui

“I think we’ve been seeing [a move from fur toward fake fur]. It’s a trend, especially for Millennials, they get it. It’s part of their whole psyche as far as dressing. The Chinese have perfected [fake fur]. They computerized it. They can do these little prints, they can simulate Mongolian, they can achieve amazing colors. And the movement now is so good that you can’t tell the difference. Then, the price point is so reasonable. All those things are making it so desirable. I think also a lot of the Millennials are vegetarian so they would never wear fur. So, it’s kind of the perfect situation at this point.”

Donatella Versace

On going fur-free now: “Because I thought it was the right moment. This is something I have been thinking for a while. As a person, but most importantly as a businesswoman, I need to carefully evaluate what impact certain decisions will have on the business. Therefore, the decision of going fur-free from 2019 is part of a gradual evaluation and a broader plan that centers on the various sustainable initiatives we are doing at Versace to embrace a more conscious and environment-savvy approach.”

Dries Van Noten

“I’m drawn by the fact that you can now have fake fur, which is so good, so beautifully done. It’s also technique. I love skills, and for me, the fourrure, the people who work in fur — it’s a profession with skill, which is so fantastic. But on the other hand, of course, there is a cruelty, and it’s not the nicest thing when you see films of how the fur is made and everything. Yet we have to also be honest and see how cruel it can be to the world that you do all those very synthetic yarns and all these things to make [fake] fur. So, for me, it’s a very double thing. You can say, ‘OK, you don’t want to be cruel to the animals,’ but maybe once you would know about how the environment you need to make this [fake] fur, so it’s a little bit of a double thing. So, my answer is, I don’t know.”

Tom Ford

Tom Ford

“Oh, my God! The fur question! There’s no way to answer this fur question without getting in trouble with somebody…

“I have recently become vegan — within the last year. [Going vegan] starts to make you question [fur]. I have started using much more fake fur. I’m not yet ready to say that I’m fur-free. Now, I have limited the fur in these collections and going forward to food by-products, which does not sound very sexy. “I’m selling you a food by-product!” That means cowhide, it means shearling, it means not doing fur that is raised purely for its pelt.