Will Vogue's new editor reimagine fashion without animal cruelty?
The time has come for the titans of fashion to be bold, and Vogue’s new editor, Chloe Malle, has the opportunity to be the leader fashion needs in a time of climate crisis.
Vogue: the shining beacon of style inspiration for fashion lovers around the globe. As the undisputed bible of fashion, the magazine has dictated fashion rules for decades under the leadership of Anna Wintour.
An iconic figure in fashion, Wintour has been at the helm of Vogue since 1988. In those years, the editor-in-chief has innovated the title in many ways: she put celebrities on the cover rather than models, worked with then-unknown designers to elevate them to superstardom, and gave politicians space in the glossy mag.
But there was one area that Wintour refused to budge on: fur and other animal-derived materials.
Despite international editions such as British Vogue introducing (albeit vague) anti-fur policies, Wintour's American Vogue has lagged behind – reportedly due to her own penchant for pelts. Advertising and editorials featuring fur and wild-animal skins have appeared in Vogue under Wintour's tenure, and the editor herself has spoken in favour of the industries. “Yes, I wear fur. I also eat juicy steaks,” she is reported to have said when questioned on the ethics of fashion. Wintour was even presented with an award by the Fur Council of Canada for her support of the trade.
But like countless other fashion insiders, she editor-in-chief is not immune to change: in recent years, she has in fact been seen wearing faux furs from famously animal-friendly designer Stella McCartney.
The news that Anna Wintour was stepping down as head of Vogue shook the industry: how would the fashion bible replace a figure like her? Rumours flew about who would take her place, and soon, a successor was announced. Editor Chloe Malle, who hosts the Vogue podcast The Run-Through alongside head of British Vogue Chioma Nnadi, has been with the publication since 2011, in different roles. She now finds herself in a position to truly innovate – having taken the reins in a time of climate catastrophe, Malle has an opportunity to make Vogue a true force for positive change in fashion.
There are many reasons why introducing a policy against fur and wild-animal skins should be Malle's first order of business: since Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri proclaimed fur “not modern” in 2017, nearly all leading fashion houses have banned animal pelts from their ranges. Not a single one has gone back on this decision, and several have added exotic skins to the list of banned materials.
Department stores such as Nordstrom and Macy's have also introduced policies against fur – and both retailers have advertised in Vogue in the past. So Malle might soon find that most of her advertisers have already parted ways with these textiles.
Photo: Andrew Skowron/Open Cages
Furthermore, her readers might applaud a progressive move like this: research shows that Americans' attitudes towards animal fur remain largely negative, with a 2022 poll showing that nearly two-thirds of American voters (71% of Democrats, 60% of Independents, and over half of Republicans) wish to ban the practice of raising animals solely for fur production – in total, 61% of prospective voters oppose fur. In fact, the US leads the way when it comes to bans: in a historic move, the state of California banned the sale and import of animal fur products in 2019. Parts of California – San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Berkeley – had already implemented these sales bans.
Not much research is to be found on the opposition to exotic skins, which may be due to their niche nature: the consumers who can actually afford a crocodile- or snake-skin accessory are few and far between, meaning that wild skins remain a very small part of most brands' business. That is, of course, if the brands have not banned them already. The list of labels which have already done so includes names such as Mulberry, Chanel, Victoria Beckham, Balenciaga, Burberry, Marc Jacobs, Paul Smith and more. Signs that the tide is turning on exotic skins include the ground-breaking policy by London Fashion Week, which banned both fur and wild skins just a few seasons ago.
“We salute the compassionate British designers who helped usher in this policy.”
Taylor is referring to the fact that virtually no British designers work with exotic skins, meaning that the policy was a no-brainer for the BFC. As London is often considered to be on the cutting edge of what's to come in fashion, Malle may want to take note: wild skins are following fur in falling out of favour. With more sustainably minded events such as Copenhagen Fashion Week also nixing exotics, the tide is truly turning – and Vogue cannot afford to lag behind. Especially as its competitors are pulling ahead: InStyle banned fur in 2018 under editor-in-chief Laura Brown, and ELLE implemented an international ban in 2021. But by adding wild-animal skins to the list, Malle still has room to break new ground.
“There has to be a noticeable shift that makes this mine,” Malle said when announced as the new ruler of Vogue. One iteration of that shift could (and should) be taking a stand in favour of innovation and consciousness and moving the historic publication well into the future by introducing a clear policy against fur and exotic skins.
The time has come for the titans of fashion to be bold, and Malle has the opportunity to be the leader fashion needs in a time of climate crisis. Let's hope she takes the chance.
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