Giorgio Armani will no longer use fur in his iconic designs

Fur real?

Fashion giant Giorgio Armani will no longer use fur in his mouth-watering designs, the icon announced Tuesday.

“The Armani Group has made a firm commitment to abolish the use of animal fur in its collections,” the designer said in a statement issued with the Humane Society of the United States.

The statement added that fake fur has gotten so good that Armani, 81, doesn’t need the real thing anymore.

“Technological progress made over the years allows us to have valid alternatives at our disposition that render the use of cruel practices unnecessary as regards animals,” he said.

The Armani Group joins a long list of retailers and fashion houses shunning the ancient animal skin. According to the Humane Society, such companies as Abercrombie and Fitch, Ann Taylor, Betsey Johnson, Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt, Hugo Boss, J. Crew, J. Jill, Kenneth Cole, Perry Ellis, Ralph Lauren, Stella McCartney (obviously), Todd Oldham, Tommy Hilfiger and Uniqlo have all sworn off fur.

Such designers as Fendi, Michael Kors and Moschino still use it.

Activists have long sought a full ban on the use of fur — remember when activists hurled a dead raccoon on Anna Wintour’s lunch table in 1996? — but last year, 73% of fashion shows in New York, Paris, Milan and London featured fur, the New York Times reported.

 

Armani’s self-imposed ban will begin with his fall collection. The fashion legend has dressed the likes of Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Naomi Watts, Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, David Beckham and George Clooney.