A view from the barricades
Millennials have different values from previous generations, says anti-fur protester Jonna Groneberg
I’m writing this with a punishingly hoarse throat – not great if you’re an actress and part-time German teacher. But on Saturday, I took part in the anti-fur protests at London Fashion Week. For seven hours, I stood outside the Gareth Pugh and Burberry shows as the fashion crowd filed in and later filed out. We were chanting antifur messages, blowing whistles and beating drums for the duration. Let’s just say we were noisy.
The three-day protest, organised by Surge (a UK non-profit animal rights organisation) has divided opinion among the fashion crowd. Not only that, but as has been pointed out to us repeatedly, there was no fur at these particular shows – they’re spring/ summer collections and those tend to be fur free. But from our view, it was a success – we were visible and audible and there were hundreds of us: all ages and from numerous countries.
Some travelled for hours to get there. Others took time off work. The camaraderie was overwhelming. I’ve heard some journalists saying they were spat at. I didn’t see that, but I’m appalled. There’s always a small minority in any protest who take things too far – and it’s always counterproductive. Our main aim was to make people think about what they wear and how it gets there. Our methods were definitely confrontational – we had a lot of pictures. But it’s all too easy to blank out the inconvenient truths.
We’ve also had a lot of support from guests at the shows. It might surprise you to know how many of them agree with our message. Don’t get me wrong. I love fashion. I’ve been known to don a pair of high heels and I never leave the house without having my nails done (with vegan and cruelty-free nail-polish, obviously). At the Burberry protest, I managed to peek past the security guards and some of the outfits looked amazing. I’d love to go to a Stella Mccartney show because she doesn’t use leather or fur. But I couldn’t enjoy others knowing that fur might appear.
I’m not going to go into the horrific details of the fur industry here. But I’ve seen haunting images I will never forget. Once you become acquainted with the facts, it’s very difficult to sit on your hands and say nothing.
Does that make me sound extreme? I hope not. I’ve been outspoken about animal cruelty since I became a vegan in 2007 – but that hardly makes me unusual among my generation of late twentysomethings. I know more and more people who are becoming conscious about animal welfare. Being vegan used to be seen as eccentric. Now there’s often one in every group. I find that inspiring. Being antifur was the norm in the UK in the Eighties, with David Bailey’s powerful campaigns. But from the late Nineties onwards, furriers began sponsoring British fashion students and somehow, fur became “cool”. Models like Naomi Campbell, who’d once starred in a Peta campaign claiming she’d rather go naked than wear fur, began appearing draped in the stuff.
But the tide really seems to be turning. Zara withdrew rabbit trims from its branches. M&S has banned angora. It’s a heady feeling when the public starts to grasp how much influence they can wield. We really can change things for the better by making more thoughtful purchases.
Of course there’s a huge amount of educating to be done. Some argue that we should have been directing our energy at the supermarkets that sell factory farmed chickens. But fur sets an aspirational tone and is, I think, an important symbol. Brands need to wake up fast to the fact that millennials have different values from previous generations. If they don’t, they’re not going to remain relevant.
The British Fashion Council, which organises London Fashion Week, should be aware of that. They could lead the way by banning fur from the catwalk. Wouldn’t that be an uplifting trend?