French luxury brand Saint Laurent says will stop using fur

A model presents a creation from the Saint Laurent fall collection during a fashion show at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California February 10, 2016.Reuters

French high-end fashion brand Saint Laurent will stop using fur in its collections from next year, its parent company Kering said on Friday, joining a growing list of global companies.

Kering brand Brioni will also forsake fur, the company said, making all the fashion group’s houses fur-free.

Animal rights groups have long lobbied the global fashion industry to give up fur and several, including Versace, Chanel and Michael Kors, had already stopped using it.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) took the lead in protesting against Saint Laurent, demonstrating outside its store in the fashionable Avenue Montaigne in Paris this year after supermodel Kate Moss appeared in an advertising campaign for the brand wearing a fox coat.

Within the Kering group, Gucci was the first to drop fur in 2017, followed by Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta et Alexander McQueen.