Saskia Rose Rimbaut • Fashion Communication and Promotion • N0646378
Fur
• SummativE Brief - Marketing Visual Awareness•
Content • FUR
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Advertising Comparison Analysis comparing two advertising campaigns: Topshop and Gucci
Marketing Comparison
Analysis comparing two visual merchandising examples from Topshop and Hermes
Creative Context
Discussing the broader creative contexts of fur: Interior and Fine Art
Cultural References
Visually analysing fur against its broader cultural references, discussing social preconceptions and historical and political values
The BIG Idea
Contextual analysis with a new marketing idea and concept that reappropriates fur
References
Referencing of quotes, information and images
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Content • FUR
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Advertising Comparison • FUR
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redominantly fur would have been recognised for its symbolic message of luxury and wealth, owing to the costs both nancial and in lives lost required to produce such garments. is was before the industry became recognised as an egregiously cruel trade. However in recent years the trend has managed to somewhat restore its stereotypical representative messages, and in turn its popularity. Many of the images I discovered when researching are unashamedly sexualising and objectifying women. Fur coats are oen styled with little to no other clothing, resulting in the subsequent look being a ne line between affluently glamourous, or overly suggestive. e context and backdrop to the image play a large part in separating these possibilities. Many also portray these women as vulnerable and doe-like, which could be referencing fur itself and its origins. Topshop manages to play on this in
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a more accessible way. Using a more playful and cheerful setting colour of so mustard yellow within the image, and introducing oral prints, the room featured is given a more homely and unostentatious feel. Topshop as a brand is targeting a more diverse age range than Gucci and with this comes a moral responsibility by means of how they are representing and marketing their product. An overly adult theme in a campaign could potentially be hugely damaging to the younger percentage of Topshop’s customer base, as this may cause parents (who are oen holding the purse-strings), to deem the brand inappropriate or too mature for their teen to be purchasing and wearing. Instead, Topshop delicately adhere to the common aesthetic and styling of oversized fur with bare legs. Cara Delevingne being pictured sitting down with crossed legs, it’s more contentious as to whether she could also be wearing a mini dress underneath, and therefore it is not quite as provocative
Advertising Comparison • FUR
and in ammatory as Gucci’s resulting image. e claiming hand on the female Gucci model’s upper hip makes it very apparent she has nothing on besides the blue black oor length fur coat.
successful tactic to feature shoppable content on brands online presence, as it makes an additional connection between the brand audience and the purchase point.
Topshop is an example of a brand that repeatedly successfully markets through celebrity endorsement and seeding, choosing a famous and likeable face for the brand each season, which enables the customer to relate and connect more with the brand identity. It also bene ts the brand through accessing Delevingnes followers, and means the images are very suitable within content marketing, as Topshop is increasingly effective at utilising social media platforms such as Instagram for its marketing plan. More recently it has become a noticeably
e perception being represented by the signi er in the Gucci image, is that wearing the clothing will make the opposite sex more attracted to the wearer, and that it will bring an air of wealth and sense of superiority. e photo is set in an airy, light and modern looking apartment with large oor to ceiling windows, which gives the impression that the couple are high acheivers and affluent. is is also probably a suggestive symbolisation of the point that the brand is considerably more unattainable than Topshop.
Figure 2
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Marketing Comparison • FUR
It’s true to brand identity pink letters work well as a more feminine and less punitive alternative to red, the stereotypical colour choice to denote or signal stop, urgent, dangerous and forbidden. In the window display itself, Topshop plays on the words “keep wildlife out of your wardrobe” with a wardrobe lled to burst with large stuffed animals. is idea illustrates the message without being too severe.
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e animals look toy like and cheap, but as Topshop is a mass market company, this may be a re ection of budget rather than a design feature. Whilst PETA is not catering to a speci c audience as it is an animal rights organisation, whose primary purpose is not pro t, Topshop has a positive reputation to maintain, and returning consumers to cater for and avoid offending. erefore the collaboration needed to stay fairly audience-appropriate and friendly, unlike some of PETA’s other campaigns.
he differences in intentions of both window displays are immediately very apparent. Hermes’ chic and simplistic styling using a minimal colour palette and a holiday vs luxury feel, hugely contrasts Topshop’s bright and busy collaboration with PETA. Topshop makes its message clear through garish and blatant lettering on the window in its signature pink. ere is little need to decode its initial message as it’s written for all passers-by to see.
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Hermes brand colour is actually a very similar tone to Topshop’s, as they are renowned for their bright, warm orange. However, in store Hermes is a lot more stripped back and neutral. Orange acts as pink’s more mature older sister, whilst still being a bold and con dent colour, so will not dissuade older customers: something Topshop’s theme may potentially sometimes be guilty of.
Marketing Comparison • FUR
Hermes’ use of neon yellow makes their display and visuals playful, modern and fun. Yellow generally signi es happiness, optimism and sunshine. is could be a strategy to impact on potential customers’ mood, and also may be a way of denoting the time of year. Whilst I cannot be sure on the season of the image, the fact that the window features a pastel green bag, and the fur being settled over a matching yellow wicker bench, suggests this is showcasing the summer collection.
bag, the product they are trying to sell. e use of only two colours means the overall effect is not too busy, and still maintains a very elegant and expensive look.
e use of the same colour for the bench and the background means the focus is entirely on the textures of the surroundings, such as the wicker and the fur, and the focal point is the contrasting
e unnatural tone implies that the fur is not real, and therefore hopefully will not deter their animal welfare conscious audience from still taking a look instore.
In addition to this, the theme makes the high-end store more approachable, relatable and inviting, and gives the feeling that the store is open minded and engaging with younger and perhaps lower income audiences: something that a very harsh, cold or minimalist display may not achieve.
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Creative Trend Report Context• • FUR FUR
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retchen Aubuchon, Editor in Chief of Fashion + Décor recently stated she feels “the worlds of fashion and decor are colliding.” ¹ Whilst once there was a 5 to 6 year gap in the speed of progression between runway and interior showrooms, now social media and the internet provide us with an ideal tool to communicate trends instantaneously. is means the two industries are able to move at a corresponding pace, as creative minds join together. e evidence of this is becoming more and more apparent: you only need to scroll through a ‘minimalist’ or ‘mindful aesthetic’ Instagram feed to see that these two areas ow together as effortlessly as a well assembled capsule wardrobe. It is therefore no wonder that fur is returning in a way so vast that it is not only being seen in fashion. Bloggers are just as easily swathing their office chairs in a sheath of white fur as they are readily adorning themselves in it. is trend in interior design is the ultimate display of frivolity and wealth, validated through a host of redundant decorative sheaths of real animal skin. In the twenty- rst century we are
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far beyond cave men, and can no longer justify the need to use an animal’s fur for our own comfort and warmth. Whilst it may be argued that a fur coat is a practicality and necessity that remains bene cial for the health and heat retaining properties key to its wearer, particularly those living in icier climates, in interior décor it serves no purpose whatsoever. Fur rugs in interior design are much like layering in clothing. You can layer a fur throw over a plain white sofa and it will immediately transform the look into something that is glamorous and expensive looking. e only difference here is that your sofa has no need to be kept warm. In a ght to counteract the return of this controversial and age old trend, fur has been used by a number of artists in order to utilise the material’s ability to create conversation. A street art collective called Neozoon search second hand shops with the aim of nding cast off fur coats, which they can refashion into animal silhouette shaped cut-outs that they then display on city walls.
Creative Context• FUR Figure 6
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Creative Context • FUR
“The worlds of fashion and décor are colliding” Gretchen Aubuchon, Editor in Chief of Fashion + Décor
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Trend Report • FUR
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Creative Context • FUR
Creative Context
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Creative Context • FUR
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ey hope to demonstrate the immoral popularisation of animal cruelty, urbanisation and dwindling animal habitats. eir work is so moving and effective, as it serves as a very uncomfortable and active reminder that fur people are buying is at the cost of lives. e wildlife are portrayed in energetic stances where they could almost be mistaken for the real thing. In a more abstract but equally effective approach, artist Adeline de Monseignat has been producing weird, curious things that settle somewhere
in-between object, creature and human. Specialising in sculpture and installation, she occasionally illustrates too. Her main inspiration is surrealism and she likes to create objects that play on the audience’s fear of the unknown. Her work successfully creates feelings of discomfort and ‘attraction-repulsion’ ² in her audience. In this particular piece a motor is inserted into the ‘abdomen’ of the ‘fur eye’ sculpture to create the illusion that it is breathing, which may be a metaphor for the trapping of a frightened animal.
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Cultural References • FUR
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umans began losing their fur approximately 1.2 million years ago. ere are two theories as to why. As humans began to walk on two legs and grow larger brains, it became increasingly fundamental to their health and survival that they stay cool. e second trigger for fur loss may be that losing fur altogether was an efficient way of ridding the body of lice, and the disease that came with it. A less hirsute, and therefore cleaner and healthier being was as a result, more attractive to breed with. Whilst we would usually associate a model in an advert showing a large expanse of bare back as sexualised, perhaps it is just a billboard for healthy skin.
It is a surprise then, due to all these tribulations in escaping the weaknesses of having fur that it was not long until we were wearing the coats of other species. We did this right up until the invention of synthetic insulating fabrics, which consequently led to fur falling out of fashion. In the late 80s and 90s, wearing fur became a huge taboo, and ve supermodels including Naomi Campbell participated in the rst Peta “I’d rather go naked” campaign. e world felt so intensely that in 1996, as a agrant response to her persistence in wearing mink, Anna Wintour had a dead racoon thrust onto her plate in the New York Four Seasons. Despite this somewhat
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Cultural References • FUR
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brief anti-campaign, in recent years fur has managed to creep back into fashion, and exactly why is difficult to pinpoint. PETA not only are against the real thing, but any alternative that may promote fur for the sake of fashion, and therefore they also veto any kind of synthetic fur. Giving “new life” to the hides of already dead and discarded animals, Boston based designer Pamela Paquin makes accessories such as neck muffs, hats and purses. She claims she wants to show the fashion industry they need not slaughter animals in large scale fur farms. is is seen by many of her customers as a morally sound way of buying real fur, but may well be
contributing to the popularisation of real fur. Wearing fur is one of the best examples of the overwhelmingly misplaced power those in the public eye have when setting trends. Kendall Jenner was seen only last year leaving Paris Fashion Week wearing a coat that would have called for the deaths of 30 to 40 factory farmed foxes, and Kim Kardashian was recently pictured with one year old daughter North, dressing the infant in a $3500 fox fur jacket. is appeared garish and morally unsound, as children are naturally drawn to animals and sympathetic to them in a way adults may no longer understand.
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Cultural References • FUR
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In the late 90s designer Stella McCartney distributed a self-narrated shocking video collaboration with Peta to her fellow designers before Paris Fashion Week. I watched this video in order to develop an insight into what designers were viewing, and was forced to turn it off halfway though. Karl Lagerfeld reportedly returned his unwatched, and was later quoted saying “In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and even clothes, the discussion of fur is childish”, ³ so its unsurprising Chanel has already featured likeminded Kim K’s daughter in a campaign.
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Cultural References • FUR
“In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and even clothes, the discussion of fur is childish.” Karl Lagerfeld, Head Designer/ Creative Director for Chanel
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The BIG Idea • FUR
The Big Idea
“People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it’s safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.” 4 Alexei Sayle
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The BIG Idea • FUR
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M
y proposition for my marketing idea as the nal chapter of this report consists of a collaborative demonstration between Stella McCartney and PETA. McCartney and PETA have collaborated before so I know that this is a partnership not outside the realms of possibility.
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e demonstration will be held as a tense experiential ash-mob style event in Central London. Midday on a Saturday will be ideal time to host the event, as the city is likely to be busy and crowded with tourists as well as locals. Unlike a ashmob dance, the models taking part will be more widespread across the capital.
The BIG Idea • FUR
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Once cited and noticed by one member of the public, word will spread via social media, as people take photographs and make analogies of the controversial statement online. e purpose of the demonstration is to not be aggressive or interactive. e models will walk around in popular landmark areas of the city as if they are an ordinary passer-by. Participators will be wearing a morph-suit style head to toe body-con ensemble in a short fur fabric, to create the illusion that it is their skin. ese suits will then be partially unzipped over the face. is is partially a practical measure in order for the models to see, but will also make the ultimate statement. Where the model’s face and skin is showing will be made up to look red and shiny, like they have
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been skinned. PETA have done many graphic and controversial protests like this before, such as their supermarket meat aisle installation in Times Square, New York City in 2010, so in contrast this will be very conservative. Each model will then be adorned with Stella McCartney’s animal friendly collection of faux leather handbags, shoes, and faux fur coats. is will create an eerie contrasting sense of normality and feminine regularity layered over a chilling gure, and statement of protest and disgust. Initially the models will easily blend into the bustling London lifestyle. Once realised they will become simultaneously a focus of interest and public pariah, as people ght with an internal fear and fascination as they struggle to decide which one outplays in their minds.
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The BIG Idea • FUR
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Stella McCartney has made her aversion to animal cruelty very blatant to her fellow designers through her previous video collaboration with PETA, which she sent copies of to many leading names. Everyday consumers may not be as aware of her vegan friendly lines. is creates a link between a perhaps previously unaware audience and her work, through the use of a belated “part two” to her association with PETA. e generally unoffending display will be a statement enough to raise awareness and lead shoppers to a purchase, but not drastic or invasive enough to deter them. By moving the product into a broader promotional context, this allows McCartney to access an audience that she wouldn’t normally reach.
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be satis ed in that McCartney’s designs receive exposure and media, whilst PETA reiterates its already established views on animal welfare.
rough sightings as well as an inevitable viral presence online, both collaborating parties will
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References • FUR
Image References Figure 1: Wearona (2015). Cara for Topshop Available: http://www.wearona.com/style/wearona-weekly-fashion-news-review-3/. Last accessed 01st Jan 2016 Figure 2: Seo, Y. (2013). Gucci Campaign Photo Available: http://www.studded-hearts.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/gucci-campaign.jpg. Last accessed 01st Jan 2016 Figure 3: Pinterest user. (Unknown). Hermes Paris. Available: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/a2/58/2b/a2582b934709a c95602de254af9578d9.jpg. Last accessed 18th Jan 2016 Figure 4: Topshop Instagram. (2013) Keep Wildlife Out of Your Wardrobe. Available: https://www.instagram.com/p/YQd3CDqSMM/ Last accessed 22nd Jan 2016 Figure 5: Dazed (2013). Art Against Knives ‘Fur Eyeball’. Available: http://origin.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/gallery/12583/6/adeline-de-monseignat-art-against-knives Last accessed 22nd Jan 2016 Figure 6: Emmas Design Blogg (2012). Fur Rug. Available: http://emmas.blogg.se/2012/july/distinctively-danish.html Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 7: My Domaine (Unknown). Ryan Street Austin Home. Available: http://www.mydomaine.com/ryan-street-austin-home/slide14 Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 8: Pinterest user (Unknown). Fur Rug Sofa. Available: http://thenletitbe.tumblr.com/post/81183864553/via-let-it-be-pinned Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 9: BG Fons (Unknown). White Fur Texture. Available: http://bgfons.com/download/4254 Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 10: Dazed (2013). Art Against Knives Illustration. Available: http://origin.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/gallery/12583/0/ adeline-de-monseignat-art-against-knives Last accessed 22nd Jan 2016 Figure 11: My Paradissi (2015). Interior Window. Available: http://www.myparadissi.com/2015/01/mood-0215.html Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 12: Adeline de Monseignat (2013). Leaving e Nest. Available: http://adelinedemonseignat.com/leaving-the-nest/ Last accessed 24th Jan 2016 Figure 13: Randommization (2012). Street Art Animal Figures. Available: http://randommization.com/2012/03/08/street-art-animalgures-made-from-discarded-fur-coats/ Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 14: Randommization (2012). Street Art Animal Figures. Available: http://randommization.com/2012/03/08/street-art-animalgures-made-from-discarded-fur-coats/ Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 15: e Answer (2015) Accidental Fur. Available: http://am1170theanswer.com/news/articles/accidental-fur-boston-companyturns-roadkill-into-fashion Last accessed 20th Jan 2016 Figure 16: e Answer (2015) Accidental Fur. Available: http://am1170theanswer.com/news/articles/accidental-fur-boston-companyturns-roadkill-into-fashion Last accessed 20th Jan 2016 Figure 17: e Mirror (2015) North in Fur. Available: http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/north-west-gets-trolled-over-5153638 Last accessed 25th Jan 2016 Figure 18: Daily Mail (2015) Kendall in Fur. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2987178/Will-fur-faux-pas-stars-KarlLagerfeld-Kim-Kardashian-continue-fuel-cruel-craze-animal-pelts-one-FEMAIL-writer-desperate-fur-die.html Last accessed 25th Jan 2016 Figure 19: e Queen of Eco-Cool (2013) Stella McCartney No Fur. Available: https://institutoe.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/the-queenof-eco-cool/ Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 20: Daily Mail (2012) Here’s e Rest of Your Fur Coat. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2202709/LondonFashion-Week-Peta-protestors-dressed-LBDs-parade-dead-skinned-foxes-Bond-Street.html Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 21: Pinterest (2016) Stitched Up. Available: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/9218374215713085/ Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 22: Pinterest (2016) Animal Print. Available: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/9218374215704246/ Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 23: Sortrature (2013) Halloween Zip. Available: http://www.sortrature.com/cool-and-scary-makeup-looks-for-this-halloween/ Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 24: Pinterest (2016) Black Shiny Suit. Available: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/9218374215703700/ Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 25: Buzzfeed (2013) Supermarket Aisle Protest. Available: http://www.buzzfeed.com/copyranter/the-12-absolute-worst-peta-adsof-all-time#.bww3VLMqzx Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Figure 26: Tumblr (2014) I Dreamt. Available: http://korvjl.tumblr.com/post/101774019422/i-dreamt-november-2014-karolina-koryl Last accessed 26th Jan 2016
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References • FUR
Quote References 1 “e worlds of fashion and décor are colliding” Freshome (2013) Available: http://freshome.com/2013/01/20/how-does-the-world-offashion-in uence-the-world-of-interiors/ Last accessed 19th Jan 2016 2 “Attraction repulsion” Another Mag (2015) Available: http://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/8080/the-strange-sensorial-sculptures-of-adeline-de-monseignat Last accessed 19th Jan 2016 3 “In a meat-eating world, wearing leather for shoes and even clothes, the discussion of fur is childish” Telegraph Fashion (2009) Available: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG4075783/Karl-Lagerfeld-defends-fur-industry-saying-beasts-would-kill-us-if-wedidnt-kill-them.html Last accessed 20th Jan 2016 4 “People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it’s safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs.” Brainy Quotes (Unknown) Available: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/fur.html Last accessed 20th Jan 2016
Information References YouTube (2012) Stella McCartney's PETA Video. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmgPAGS0QAQ Last accessed 22nd Jan 2016 Daily Mail (Unknown) Fur Claws Its Way Back Into Fashion. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-103849/Fur-clawsway-fashion.html Last accessed 22nd Jan 2016 Dazed Digital (2013) Adeline de Monseignat, Art Against Knives. Available: http://origin.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/12583/1/adeline-de-monseignat-art-against-knives Last accessed 25th Jan 2016 Adeline De Monseignat (2016) Leaving the Nest. Available: http://adelinedemonseignat.com/index/ Last accessed 25th Jan 2016 Buzzfeed (2013) Worst PETA Ads of All Time. Available: http://www.buzzfeed.com/copyranter/the-12-absolute-worst-peta-ads-of-alltime#.bww3VLMqzx Last accessed 25th Jan 2016 Daily Mail (2012) London Fashion Week PETA Protesters. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2202709/London-Fashion-Week-Peta-protestors-dressed-LBDs-parade-dead-skinned-foxes-Bond-Street.html Last accessed 25th Jan 2016 Telegraph Fashion (2009) Karl Lagerfeld For Fur. Available: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG4075783/Karl-Lagerfelddefends-fur-industry-saying-beasts-would-kill-us-if-we-didnt-kill-them.html Last accessed 25th Jan 2016 Daily Mail (2015) Kim Kardashian and North West Promote Fur. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2987178/Will-furfaux-pas-stars-Karl-Lagerfeld-Kim-Kardashian-continue-fuel-cruel-craze-animal-pelts-one-FEMAIL-writer-desperate-fur-die.html Last accessed 26th Jan 2016 Randommization (2012) Street Art Fur Figures. Available: http://randommization.com/2012/03/08/street-art-animal- gures-madefrom-discarded-fur-coats/ Last accessed 25th Jan 2016 e Cutting Class (Unknown) e Connotations of Fur. Available: http://thecuttingclass.com/post/4363903724/furs-connotations Last accessed 19th Jan 2016 Collectors Weekly (2013) Should You Feel Guilty About Wearing Vintage Fur? Available: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/ should-you-feel-guilty-about-wearing-vintage-fur/ Last accessed 19th Jan 2016 Vogue (2015) Star Wars in Vogue Archive. Available: http://www.vogue.com/slideshow/13380414/jerry-hall-archives-star-wars/#1 Last accessed 10th Jan 2016 e New York Times (2003) Why Humans and eir Fur Parted Ways. Available: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/19/science/whyhumans-and-their-fur-parted-ways.html?pagewanted=all Last accessed 24th Jan 2016 Independent (2013) Why Humans Lost eir Body Hair. Available: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/why-humans-lost-theirbody-hair-to-stop-their-brains-from-overheating-as-we-evolved-8498623.html Last accessed 24th Jan 2016 Popsugar (2008) Dead Racoon Won't Get Anna Wintour Talking. Available: http://www.popsugar.com/fashion/Dead-Raccoon-WontGet-Anna-Wintour-Talking-2486426 Last accessed 22nd Jan 2016
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