Breaking: PETA Supporter Infiltrates Giorgio Armani Show Over Use of Wild-Animal Skins
For Immediate Release:
October 17, 2024
Contact:
Maddy Missett 202-483-7382
Moments ago, a PETA supporter in a “snakeskin” leotard emblazoned with the words “Armani: Drop Wild Animal Skins” on the back slithered into the Giorgio Armani fashion show at the Park Avenue Armory and appealed to the designer to ban the skins of tormented wildlife from his collections, as numerous other brands have already done. Bearing a sign showing a graphic photo of a bloodied alligator, the activist poured blood over her head and walked the catwalk before being grabbed by security and dragged out of the building. After, another activist came on the runway. Photos and video of the disruption can be viewed here.
“While Armani plies his wares in New York City, the vulnerable animals sentenced to die for his designs languish in pain and filth before they’re violently killed,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Armani to stop being complicit in cruelty and to please shun the antiquated use of animal skins.”
A PETA Asia investigation into slaughterhouses in Indonesia shows snakes being inflated with water, bashed with hammers, and cut with razors while they were likely still conscious. PETA entities have also documented how workers in the fashion industry hack at crocodiles’ necks and shove metal rods down their spines, chop off conscious lizards’ heads with machetes, and electrically stun ostriches before slitting their throats in full view of their terrified flockmates.
PETA notes that many other major designers—including Mulberry, Victoria Beckham, Chanel, Burberry, Diane von Furstenberg, and Vivienne Westwood—have banned using the skins of reptiles or other wildlife.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.