Jean-Paul Gaultier threw down the gauntlet to the anti-fur brigade last night, with an unashamed use of pelts and animal headwear in his Paris fashion week show.
The controversial Frenchman unveiled his autumn/winter collection with models wearing foxes heads as hats, provoking outrage from animal rights campaigners.
Ingrid Newkirk from Peta questioned why he felt the need to "stick teeth on women's heads".
Bad taste or cutting edge fashion?
The ageing 'enfant terrible' designer defended his overwhelming use of animal pelts to the press after the show, saying "I love fur. I have always used fur," revealing that sometimes it was farmed, but sometimes reworked and modified from old coats.
His collection was stuffed with fur, both real and fake, including leather and suede printed to look like fur, with a plethora of fox-heads, genuine and not, in the finale.
It marks a return of fur to many big designers' collections. Fashion designer Dennis Basso provoked a large protest outside his New York fashion week show, after he sent models down the catwalk in fox jackets, mink coats and even alligator vests.
Celebrities are also increasingly wearing pelts in public with Eva Longoria and Lindsay Lohan just to mention a few. Both Vogue Editor Anna Wintour and Sex in the City author Candace Bushell wore fur to Basso's show.
"Many celebrities like Candace Bushell wear fur because it is given to them for free by designer who want to promote their cruelty. It's good publicity for the furrier but not for the celebrities. She should be ashamed of herself," a spokesman from the NYC Animals Rights group said.
Jean Paul Gaultier's show followed his triumph of dressing Oscar winning actress Marion Cotillard in a mermaid inspired halter dress covered in silver scales.
Source: Daily Mail UK, Feb.28, 2008
Fur flies as Gaultier sends models down the catwalk wearing fox heads as hats 
Re: Fur flies as Gaultier sends models down the catwalk wearing fox heads as hats 
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