Lagerfeld: Kill The Beast Before It Kills You

Karl Lagerfeld thinks it is childish to comment on the usage of fur in the fashion industry, causing PETA to dub him a dinosaur.

Karl Lagerfeld thinks it is “childish” to discuss the issue of wearing fur in a world where eating meat is normal. The head of French Chanel fashion home told the Telegraph that he personally does not wear fur, but he defended this practice because there is a whole industry living off it.

Hunters up North survive “killing those beasts who would kill us if they could”. However, the 75-year-old designer added they should be killed in a “nicer” way.

- I can hardly eat meat because it has to look like something what it was not when it was alive – Lagerfeld said.

However, the German born designer concluded:

- In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and clothes and even handbags, the discussion of fur is childish –

Lagerfeld`s statements forced PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to react, comparing him to a dinosaur who lives in a twisted reality.

- Karl Lagerfeld is a fashion dinosaur who is as out of step as his furs are out of style – said a PETA spokesperson, emphasizing that the vast majority of fur does not come from hunters, as he believes, but from Chinese farms where no law protects millions of animals which are routinely tortured and skinned alive.

- Lagerfeld’s childish refusal to acknowledge the needless suffering behind every piece of fur and listen to public opinion means that he is being overtaken in the style stakes by an increasing number of designers who believe that cruelty has no place in fashion – the spokesperson concluded, Telegraph.co.uk writes.

Facts point: fur industry is booming

While individuals fight in the media, the fur industry is booming. It is unavoidable to mention that fur had a big comeback on the catwalk through the 2008/2009 autumn/winter collections. Jean Paul Gautier presented his wild animal fur coats, hats with tails, ears and teeth…

However, the Parisian designer is not the only one who has announced fur`s big comeback. The industry`s most sounding names like Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Dior and Fendi, said fur is a must have. Even brands like Badgley Mischka and Max Azria, who are synonyms of trans-Atlantic luxury, announced the return of fur at New York Week.

The fact that fur is experiencing its renaissance is also evident from last year`s Hong Kong Fur Show, as the city is the largest exporter of fur, where 245 companies displayed their fur exhibits. The show in 2008 was the most visited exhibition since the fair was founded in 1982.