New PETA research shows 80 percent of London Fashion Week designers eschewing fur

Although images from last season's London Fashion Week runways seemed awashed with fur, according to the latest research from animal rights' organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA, the vast majority of designers showing eschewed real fur for their Autumn-Winter 2015 collections.

According to the International Fur Trade Federation (IFTF), an organisation which represents national fur trade associations and organisations, more than 60 percent of shows at London Fashion Week featured fur last year. However, PETA rejected this statistic and conducted its own research into the number of fashion designers to feature real fur in their collections for AW15.

After contacting London Fashion Week designers in regards to their use of fur, PETA found that 80 percent of the designer who showed during LFW this February did not use real fur in their AW15 collections. "The fur industry has been on its knees since the 1980s and has been reduced to sponsoring fashion shows and giving away free pelts in an effort to keep fur visible", commented PETA Director Mimi Bekhechi.

"And according to our latest research, it's struggling to do even that." The organisation stresses that more and more fashion designers are indeed making the switch to more eco- and animal-friendly materials, such as Vivienne Westwood, Shrimps, Christopher Ræburn, Felder Felder and Simone Rocha.