At the Toronto International Film Festival in September, PETA activists disrupted the premiere of Pharrell Williams’ animated documentary little by little Protest Williams’ use of fur and exotic leathers as creative director of Louis Vuitton. Unlike Chanel and Gucci, Louis Vuitton is not phasing out fur, and animal rights groups have raised objections.
Farrell responded to the activist by saying, “You’re right, you’re right, God bless you,” and encouraged the audience to applaud her. The use of fur continues in this house. (Williams and little by little Distributor Focus Features declined to comment.
While focusing on Williams’ fashion work, the moment also highlights a crossroads in the entertainment world. Several films this season specifically feature vintage or vegan fur—including Angelina Jolie’s Maria Callas biopic Maria and Selena Gomez’s cross-theme dramatic thriller emilia perez — Opting out of materials that require raising or capturing animals. But not all products are participating, and even vintage and vegan furs have raised questions about the use of this material as a byword for luxury.
“It’s a touchy subject, isn’t it?” says three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell.
The public and celebrities are increasingly reluctant to raise and kill exotic animals for luxury purposes. A 2022 survey found that 73% of Americans are at least “somewhat concerned” about using animal fur in clothing. Natalie Portman demands fur-free car wardrobes in 2018 sound of luxLike famously vegan Portman, Joaquin Phoenix voices his opposition to fur in his period epic Napoleon; Instead, artificial ones are used.
In 2018, Meghan Markle wedding photographer Alexi Lubomirski founded Creatives4Change to mobilize Jennifer Aniston, Kate Winslet Winslet and others avoided the use of fur, feathers and exotic leathers in their work. Since 2017, Disney Studios has banned the use of real fur in television and film productions.
This resistance is due to growing awareness of the cruel practices of farming and killing animals for their fur. The trend is reminiscent of smoking, which had long been a feature in all rated films until 2007, when advocates convinced the Motion Picture Association to consider smoking when classifying films.
This all comes after much of the fashion world shuns fur. Brands from Armani to Hilfiger, Prada to Michael Kors have stopped using fur, some for years. In 2021, Kering Group eliminated fur from all luxury brands, including Gucci, which has no longer used fur since 2018; Bottega Veneta’s Saint Laurent unveiled its new fur collection at the Cannes Film Festival. The production banner premiered three films.
The fur policy is consistent with the attitude of the star of one of the movies. “Selena Gomez doesn’t want to wear fur,” said costume designer Virginie Montel. emilia perez. Instead, Montel looked to the Saint Laurent archives for two faux fur pieces designed by creative director Anthony Vaccarello to depict the character’s “too much” aesthetic.
Meanwhile, for Donald Trump’s origin story apprenticeCostume designer Laura Montgomery found an ’80s item from a Salvation Army sale to dress Ivana in; she said she would only use recycled fur.
“This has definitely become the case [the actors and I] There has to be a conversation about this,” costume designer Erin Benach said of the 2023 festival launch cyclist. She noted that some talent also refuse to wear faux fur to avoid glamorizing the material in a way that might incentivize purchases of the real thing.
Some animal rights activists say reuse, while welcome, only solves half the problem. “Even vintage fur has the potential to normalize the idea of wearing animals,” said Lauren Thomasson, director of animals for film and TV at PETA.
But costume designers also say they often find themselves caught in a dilemma – they want to respond to these new emotions while staying true to the reality of the characters, especially those in period films. In some cases, fur can reflect key character details, they say. Costume designer Charlese Antoinette often reuses fur in her work, recently renting one for Michael Stuhlbarg’s raging Boston gangster in a contemporary heist film fox fur demagogue.
“[The coat] It’s an out-and-out comedy — a comedic device — designed to make him feel ridiculous and look a little dated,” Antoinette said.
Antoinette said she understands the sensitivity of such use. “But at the same time, I don’t want to feel like I’m limiting my creativity,” she said. “Because if faux fur doesn’t look as good, can’t I use a real coat?” (With advances in manufacturing and materials, many experts say vegan fur can look as soft as plush from real animals.)
Powell said she always uses vintage fur—and only when the story calls for it—and doesn’t think fur should be removed entirely. She said it could compromise the film’s authenticity, like taking cigarettes out of medieval movies. “I believe that in an adult film you can portray people who smoked in the past, just like you can portray people who wore furs in the past,” she said.
Pablo Larraín’s chronicle of Callas’s final days also demonstrates the tension between sensitivity and authenticity. The filmmakers and Jolie believed that fur was crucial to the portrayal of the famous opera soprano. Therefore, vintage fur is also used in this product. “PETA helped us in the film by telling us that using old fur does not mean any kind of cruelty because the fur is vintage,” says Massimo Cantini, two-time Oscar-nominated costume designer for the film Massimo Cantini Parrini said. PETA helped find some furs and leathers in Cantini Parrini’s archives and launched a campaign to spread the word. Jolie has also partnered with PETA to spread the message.
“Angelina releases statement on production Mariait’s sending a signal to all the other productions that might still be going on [have the opportunity to] Use vintage fur,” says PETA’s Thomason. She emphasized that PETA’s ultimate goal is to have Hollywood completely switch to vegan fur, but “there are a lot of nuances to how we operate.”
PETA’s statement at the end of the credits Maria The point of vintage fur was also made, although whether a casual moviegoer bombarded with images of fur would absorb these signals is less clear. (Or Netflix viewers can make it this far, since the streamer starts playing the next installment before the end credits roll.)
Perhaps the trickiest example of the season is AnoraSean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner tells the story of a working-class escort (Mike Maddison) who turns to furs after gaining newfound wealth.
“no Mink,” she said, wearing a high-end-looking Russian mink coat. Costume designer Jocelyn Pierce told fashion brand Stylecaster that she had the coat custom made from real mink. Pierce declined to comment for this story.
In the case of PETA, faux fur was not only the go-to alternative, but it also furthered the film’s thematic goals. “We’ve always wanted consumers to choose vegan faux fur,” Thomason said. “If the real Maria Callas were alive today, we think she would do the same thing.”
Fawnia Soo Hoo contributed reporting.
A version of this story first appeared in the December independent issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
