Paris Fashion Week: Runway Takeover Tells Hermès to Drop Exotic Skins
As Hermès held its much-anticipated Paris Fashion Week show at the French national police barracks, a PETA entity supporter stormed the runway, brandishing a sign that read, “Hermès: Drop Exotic Skins.”
Watch the action unfold:
#ParisFashionWeek2023 : PETA vient de faire irruption sur le podium du défilé @Hermes_Paris avec un message pour la marque : « Hermès : stop aux peaux exotiques ! » #Hermes pic.twitter.com/9qZ74HTAt3
— PETA France (@PETA_France) September 30, 2023
Crocodiles are bludgeoned, gutted, and skinned alive to be turned into bags, belts, and other accessories. The PETA entity supporter interrupted the Hermès show to call on the brand to drop these cruelly obtained materials and to remind everyone that animals are not ours to wear.
PETA Entities Take Over Runways From New York to Milan
This is the fourth fashion week show disrupted by PETA entities this season. Runway takeovers also happened at shows by Burberry (London), Gucci (Milan), and Coach (New York).
Crocodiles Are NOT Handbags
Australia is the world’s main producer of saltwater crocodile skin, exporting 90% of it internationally. Hermès already owns the majority of the crocodile farms in the Northern Territory, yet it is planning to expand its operations further by building Australia’s biggest crocodile farm to date and imprisoning up to 50,000 animals there at a time.
Footage of farms owned by Hermès and its suppliers revealed that crocodiles are confined to cramped cages and small concrete pits filled with filthy water before they are electrocuted, dragged into the open, and mutilated – often while still conscious.
Crocodiles are callously tortured and killed for profit by Hermès . The skin from their stomachs is used to make items such as the Hermès Birkin and Kelly handbags. It takes two or three crocodiles to make just one of these bags, which may be sold for $70,000 or more apiece.
Exotic Skins Are Out – Compassion Is In
Many designers, including Mulberry, Victoria Beckham, Karl Lagerfeld, Paul Smith, Chanel, and Stella McCartney, have banned exotic skins from their collections.
It’s time for Hermès to drop these cruelly obtained materials, too. Join our campaign – send Hermès a message now: