It's barely even fall, but Gucci is already laying the groundwork for one of the biggest trends of spring: going fur-free. Today, the Italian luxury house announced its plans to stop selling fur starting next season with its Spring 2018 collection. "Being socially responsible is one of Gucci’s core values, and we will continue to strive to do better for the environment and animals," Gucci president and chief executive Marco Bizzarri said in a statement to the Humane Society of the United States. "[Gucci] hopes it will help inspire innovation and raise awareness, changing the luxury fashion industry for the better.”
Aside from preventing cruelty towards animals, Gucci's decision to go fur-free is also apparently motivated by a larger plan to modernize the company, philosophically and sustainably, as Bizzari said in an interview with Business of Fashion. “Do you think using furs today is still modern?" he told the publication. "I don’t think it’s still modern and that’s the reason why we decided not to do that. It’s a little bit outdated. Creativity can jump in many different directions instead of using furs.”