 PETA's
Runway Row Nets Supermodel Spokesperson
International cover model Fernanda Tavares joins
the ranks of Pamela Anderson, Christy Turlington,
and Pink as the newest star to appear in the high-profile
series of sexy anti-fur advertisements for PETA. Fernanda joined PETA
after the group’s infamous disruption of the Victoria’s
Secret fashion show in which Tavares appeared with friend Gisele
Bündchen, who was targeted for advertising fur.
Promising to forgo runway disruptions this season, PETA has been invited
by New York Fashion Week organizers to unveil its ad on September
16 inside the Bryant Park fashion show tents, the site of many past
PETA protests.
Fur- and leather-free designer Stella McCartney,
daughter of former Beatle Paul McCartney, provided
the clothes that Fernanda wears in the ad, demonstrating that you
can have a look that kills without killing animals. The ad was photographed
by fashion designer Todd Oldham.
“Fashion is supposed to be fun, but there is nothing fun about
breaking animals’ necks and killing them with genital electrocution—common
fates for animals destined to become fur coats,” says Fernanda.
“The fur industry butchers animals and pollutes our environment.
I could never wear fur.”
Synthetic fur is a popular alternative because of current concerns
about the abuse of animals who are trapped, drowned, and beaten
to death in the wild and gassed, strangled, and electrocuted on
fur farms for their pelts. On fur farms worldwide, animals are confined
year-round to crowded, filthy cages—often with little to no
protection from the elements. Many exhibit symptoms of psychological
distress, such as self-mutilation, pacing, and endless circling.
On the set of the photo shoot, PETA sat down with Fernanda and chatted
with her about why fur hurts.
PETA: Why is it wrong to wear fur?
Fernanda Tavares: You can be a model, you can do
whatever, you can look beautiful. You can look gorgeous on the runway,
whatever it is, and you don’t need to wear fur. Because you’re
beautiful!
PETA: Do you still get asked to model fur?
FT: I told them, I don't care, you can pay me a million
dollars, and I'm not going to do fur, 'cause that goes against my
principles and I'm not doing fur for however much money it is. And
after that, they look at me and they're like, well, that girl has
an opinion, she has a personality. And they [were] like, "OK,
if that's your opinion, you don't do fur? You don't do fur. We're
not going to go against that anymore."
PETA: What do you say to designers who still work
with fur?
FT: Just keep doing, you know, the fake stuff: the
fake fur, the fake leather, whatever it is. They’re going to
sell it. And I love animals. If I love dogs and I love cats and I
love birds, why am I going to have to wear them? Why would I want
to wear them? I don’t want to. I just want them alive next to
me!
|
Model Fernanda Takes Back Runway 
Vote for the Most Compelling Anti-Fur Video
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Eva Mendes Poses Nude to Speak Out Against Fur
Fatal Fashion: Fur, Leather, and Wool
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