Stella McCartney takes on 'barbaric' feather industry

British fashion designer Stella McCartney is showcasing plant-based alternatives to real feathers in her latest collection_ as the animal-rights campaigner takes on the "barbaric" farming of birds for clothing. "I've been having the conversation about not killing cows and goats and snakes or any living animal to be made into a shoe or handbag in my industry for over 30 years_" McCartney told AFP after her show during Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday evening. "But I realised not that long ago that feathers were a whole other barbaric part of the industry_" she added.

Throughout her career_ the 51-year-old daughter of Beatles legend Paul McCartney has consistently pushed vegan animal-free alternatives to the industry's staples of leather and exotic skins. Her solution to replacing feathers in Tuesday's show_ attended by Helen Mirren_ Robin Wright and Ice Spice_ among other VIPs_ was a new product known as "fevvers"_ produced by a British-based start-up. With help from Mumbai-based embroidery and textile house Chanakya International_ the faux feathers featured in soft pastels_ giving lightness to two gowns in pink and blue_ as well as bodices. "We grew blades of grass and naturally dyed them and then hand-stitched them onto incredible silhouettes. You get the same effect (as feathers)_ and you're not killing billions of birds_" said McCartney.

'Good replacements'

Exotic feathers have been a staple of the fashion industry since its advent. They were considered a high-society status symbol in 19th-century Europe and North America. The gradual passing of wildlife regulations thereafter helped prevent wild birds from ending up adorning hats or ball gowns. Though egrets_ lyrebirds or parakeets are now protected_ the modern fashion industry still uses feathers in huge quantities_ above all from farmed ostriches that are reared in conditions decried by campaign groups. "Feathers used for fashion are stolen from birds like ostriches_ chickens_ turkeys or ducks -- and many spend their entire lives confined on factory farms or on dirt lots_" Yvonne Taylor_ from the campaign group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)_ told AFP.

Slaughtered chickens and ducks from the poultry industry often provide the feathers for the ubiquitous down jackets found on streets across the world. Fashion author Dana Thomas_ who wrote the book "Fashionopolis" about the industry's environmental record_ told AFP luxury labels with bigger buying power needed to join McCartney to drive real change. "She (McCartney) doesn't have the juice or the funds to buy big and really change the paradigm with biomaterials_" Thomas said_ adding there were "so many good replacements" for the animal or petroleum-based products still favoured by major brands.

McCartney has also been a pioneering user of UPPEAL_ which is made from apples repurposed to look like crocodile leather_ as well as Econyl_ which is manufactured from nylon waste fabrics and fishing nets. On Tuesday night_ she also included PURE.TECH for the first time in her denims_ a material developed by a Barcelona-based company that has air-purifying properties_ including absorbing carbon dioxide.

Feather bans

Thomas says the global fashion industry_ dominated by corporations such as Kering_ LVMH or Zara_ does not do enough research and development and is "not willing to take a chance of buying some fabrics that are better for the planet_ but cost more money". "While it's supposed to be an industry that sets trends and tells us what's happening in our culture_ it's actually a very old-fashioned business_" she said.

The campaign to phase out feathers is gaining traction_ although they remain a mainstay for many celebrity red-carpet gowns and bridal outfits. Like fur_ wild bird feathers have been banned at several secondary Fashion Weeks in the last two years_ including in Amsterdam_ Melbourne and Berlin. "Just as designers got on board with banning mink_ fox and rabbit fur_ the momentum around banning feathers is happening right now_" Taylor told AFP in a written statement. However_ the biggest Fashion Weeks -- in Paris_ New York_ London and Milan -- still allow them.

McCartney_ formerly designer at French label Celine_ acknowledges that "fevvers" remain at the experimental stage and the company behind them will need financial support and possibly regulatory changes via a ban on animal feathers to take off. "It's really interesting that this technique can't get put into production_ and yet murdering loads of birds in a building somewhere is in production_" she said.