Helsinki Fashion Week Eliminates Leather

Leather will no longer be allowed on the catwalk during Helsinki Fashion Week, starting in July 2019. The decision was prompted by a letter that animal-rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent to Helsinki Fashion Week Founder Evelyn Moyer. “We at Helsinki Fashion Week, with the support of the Nordic Fashion Week Association,” Moyer said, “are taking an active stand against cruelty to animals and the damaging environmental impacts that the use of animal leather brings with it.” In recent years, several high-end designers and labels transitioned to more animal-friendly materials, including Donatella Versace, who announced earlier this year that she would no longer use animal fur in her collections.