London Fashion Week first of the Big Four to ban exotic animal skins

London Fashion Week has become the first of four major fashion weeks to ban exotic animal skins from its shows from 2025 – the industry’s biggest event.

All designers holding fashion shows at the event must commit to banishing the skins of animals such as crocodiles, alligators and snakes from their collections.

David Leigh-Pemberton, deputy director of policy and engagement at the British Fashion Council, announced the ban in a speech to Parliament this week.

The change comes as a result of the fur ban, which was first promised by BFC chief executive Caroline Rush in 2018 and was officially introduced in December 2023.

During the four major fashion weeks – New York, London, Milan and Paris – the British capital has been more progressive when it comes to animal materials. London was the first to ban furs and is now the first to ban exotic skins, following smaller but increasingly influential events such as Melbourne Fashion Week and Copenhagen Fashion Week. Instead, fur is still seen in exhibitions in Milan and Paris.

Animal rights advocates welcomed the development. “We celebrate this important progress,” said Emma Håkansson, founding director of Collective Fashion Justice.

Dr Charlotte Regan, wildlife campaign manager at World Animal Protection UK, said the announcement sent a “significant message to the entire global fashion industry that exploiting animals for their leather is both unethical and unnecessary.

“Millions of animals continue to suffer and die because of fashion when there are so many innovative and exciting animal-friendly materials that designers and clothing companies can choose to be creative with.”

Animal rights advocates would also like a ban on feathers, which are sometimes “plucked live” from birds, causing pain and suffering.

Regan said: “After London Fashion Week banned both fur and now wildlife skins, our attention turns to the use of wild bird feathers in fashion. We look forward to working with the British Fashion Council on the final stage of their journey to be a completely wildlife-free event.”

Copenhagen Fashion Week announced in April that it will ban feathers from its shows starting in 2025.

London Fashion Week is heavily dominated by up-and-coming designers, so the ban may be easier to enforce, according to the Business of Fashion website, because “the leather goods industry uses more exotic products. [skins] in their collections”.

Feathers are perhaps a trickier option because designers use them so often to finish off garments. It is also more difficult to tell the truth from fakes. In 2023, it was discovered that retailers such as Boohoo and Selfridges had mislabeled real feathers as artificial.

A press release from the British Fashion Council described the ban as part of a wider set of standards at the organisation’s Institute of Positive Fashion, which works on social, environmental and sustainability programmes, in part to reflect the changing sentiments of London’s fashion industry.

“We know that many of our designers have strong ethics and are working towards more sustainable practices and accurate measurements,” it read. “We are committed to providing our network with the tools and resources to help them on this journey. As part of this, we are having conversations about the use of feathers on the catwalk.