Less Paint, More Parties
PETA Tames Its Fur Furor; Comes Off the Picket Line to Cozy Up to Fashion Insiders. On the opening night of New York Fashion Week, PETA didn’t picket or throw paint. It threw a party. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the animal rights group known by its acronym, hosted a crowd of industry types at Stella McCartney’s boutique in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. With photographers, glasses of wine and a few celebrities, the event seemed a typical fashion gathering, albeit one with a video about rabbit and fox slaughtering in the fur trade.
Narrating the video was Tim Gunn, chief creative officer of Liz Claiborne Inc. and well-known personality on reality TV show “Project Runway.” The party “was like a big group hug,” Mr. Gunn says. PETA, known for its graphic stunts with bleeding carcasses and naked models, is shifting its strategy. Its new approach is less about disrupting events from the outside and more about educating the fashion industry from the inside, says Dan Mathews, PETA senior vice president of campaigns.
PETA’s move comes at a time when the high-end fashion industry is pushing fur heavily. A parade of pelts strutted down the runways of New York, Milan and Paris in recent weeks. Coats, dresses, bags, and shoes with fur accents were seen at brands of all sizes, from small Italian label Luca Luca to luxury powerhouse Michael Kors.
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