It has been an eventful day with not one but THREE naked fur protesters. The first two turned out in all of their glory at the Valentino show this afternoon. I was sitting at the show watching the models parade down the runway with Veronica Lake hair and film-noir red lips when out of the corner of my eye I saw a naked tush. A blonde woman had disrobed and unfurled an anti-fur banner. The only thing she was wearing was a "no fur" sign painted on her back and a determined expression.
Fur protester (REUTERS/Charles Platiau)
The security guards tackled her as if they were going for a Super Bowl ring and she flew directly into the lap of Glamour's editor-in-chief Cindi Leive. Cindi, ever the journalist, shook off her surprise and immediately reached for her cell phone to snap the woman's picture. Readers of the magazine may want to look for the snapshot on an upcoming editor's page. The fashion crowd, ever blase, simply noted, "Wow, no cellulite!"
Soon after the blonde had been tackled and removed, a brunette stripped off her trench coat and made a beeline for the runway. She also managed to do the full monty before the guards hustled her out of the room.
Later in the day, at the Christian Lacroix show, another blonde stripped and held up a sign in protest of fur. She managed to get a few long seconds in front of a bank of cameras before the security team managed to throw a suit jacket around her shoulders and haul her out.
I'm not sure why all the stripping fur protesters are women. A man would at least add a little variety. But whether male or female, they've certainly got their work cut out for them. Designers are having a real love affair with fur this season.
While going from one side of Paris to the other on the way to a show, it occurred to me, as I looked at the schedule, that none of the designers of the major houses here are women. Milan has Miuccia Prada, Donatella Versace, Alberta Ferretti, Gucci's Frida Giannini, Angela Missoni, Silvia Fendi and so on. Milan is practically dominated by female designers. Paris has Ann Demeulemeester, Comme des Garcon's Rei Kawakubo, Stella McCartney and Sophia Kokosalaki, who is designing her own line as well as Vionnet and a couple of other lesser-known names. But the really big or prestigious houses -- Chanel, Valentino, Givenchy, Lanvin, Balenciaga, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent --are all helmed by men. I'm not sure what to make of that, but it seems odd and well, just not right. It's not that I don't think men can design for women, it's just that diversity is always a good thing. The more ideas and points of view, the better.
Soon after the blonde had been tackled and removed, a brunette stripped off her trench coat and made a beeline for the runway. She also managed to do the full monty before the guards hustled her out of the room.
Later in the day, at the Christian Lacroix show, another blonde stripped and held up a sign in protest of fur. She managed to get a few long seconds in front of a bank of cameras before the security team managed to throw a suit jacket around her shoulders and haul her out.
I'm not sure why all the stripping fur protesters are women. A man would at least add a little variety. But whether male or female, they've certainly got their work cut out for them. Designers are having a real love affair with fur this season.
While going from one side of Paris to the other on the way to a show, it occurred to me, as I looked at the schedule, that none of the designers of the major houses here are women. Milan has Miuccia Prada, Donatella Versace, Alberta Ferretti, Gucci's Frida Giannini, Angela Missoni, Silvia Fendi and so on. Milan is practically dominated by female designers. Paris has Ann Demeulemeester, Comme des Garcon's Rei Kawakubo, Stella McCartney and Sophia Kokosalaki, who is designing her own line as well as Vionnet and a couple of other lesser-known names. But the really big or prestigious houses -- Chanel, Valentino, Givenchy, Lanvin, Balenciaga, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent --are all helmed by men. I'm not sure what to make of that, but it seems odd and well, just not right. It's not that I don't think men can design for women, it's just that diversity is always a good thing. The more ideas and points of view, the better.
