Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga go fur-free

French fashion group Kering announced that two of its brands Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen have stopped using fur.

Both brands will join Gucci and Bottega Benetta, who are also part of the same group and have officially committed to taking fur out of their range for good since quite sometime. The news which was quietly revealed in a company filing is not entirely a new change as Balenciaga's creative director Demna Gvasalia has not used real fur since the beginning of his tenure.

The announcement comes after the UK government announced that it is considering making Britain the first country in the world to ban the sale of fur now that the country has left the European Union's single market. Furthermore, over the past few years sales of fur have been in a free fall while sales for vegan fashion items have increased by 258 percent in the US and the UK alone according to Vogue Business.

'We are thrilled that yet another iconic British fashion figure has taken a stand against the cruel fur industry and joined the growing list of fur-free designers. By removing fur from its collections, Alexander McQueen is in tune with the British public, the vast majority of whom do not wear fur. This is a notable fur-free milestone worth celebrating and we encourage the government to acknowledge it as further evidence that Britain is ready for a fur sales ban this year,' Claire Bass, Executive Director of Humane Society International & UK, said in a statement.

Alexander McQueen and Balenciaga join a long list of brands such as Chanel, Coach, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney, Diane von Furstenberg, Versace and Michael Kors who have joined the fur free movement and have committed to promoting sustainable fashion.

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