A new frontier has opened in fashion’s fur wars, as protesters attacked the homes of more than a dozen Marc Jacobs employees in recent months, using signs, noisemakers and fake blood in an effort to force the designer to officially renounce the use of fur in his collections.
Over the weekend, Jacobs accused protesters of “intimidation” in a statement on Instagram, but said: Her brand “does not work with, use or sell fur, nor will we do so in the future.” He also highlighted that he had not used fur in any of his own brand’s collections since 2018.
“This organization has made it clear that they will not stop their violence towards Marc Jacobs unless they get the statement they want,” Jacobs wrote. “While I do not condone the behavior of this organization, I will always do what I can to protect, honor and respect the lives and well-being of the people I work with.”
The organization Jacobs is referring to is the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade, or CAFT, a group that selects targets and disseminates information and resources to anti-fur activists on the ground.
“We were ecstatic,” Matthew Klein, executive director of CAFT USA, said of Jacobs’ statement, although he disputed the depiction of the protests as violent: “Internal protest is protected by the First Amendment and has a long and proud history of use.” by the labor and civil rights movements.”
According to Klein, CAFT has been protesting Marc Jacobs since June 2023, a few months after the company collaborated on a runway show with Italian brand Fendi.
That collection included large fox fur hats described by Jacobs as “upcycled.” Kim Jones, creative director of womenswear at Fendi, confirmed that the fur came from a vintage piece. The hats were used as a runway accessory and were never produced for public sale.
“It was the cultural relevance that Marc Jacobs had in fashion that made him a priority for our campaign,” Klein said, calling the designer “extremely influential” for emerging brands.
The protests began in front of stores and offices. But until this weekend, the brand’s only public response appeared to be an Instagram post by Jacobs’ husband, which was personally critical of one activist in particular. “It didn’t have the result we wanted – a fur-free policy – but rather ridicule,” Klein said.
The campaign intensified in February, when protesters gathered outside the homes of Marc Jacobs employees. At least 18 employees were attacked, some multiple times, in New York City, Las Vegas and Austin, Klein said. (Since February, more than 100 protests have taken place, he added, including Mr. Jacobs’ confrontation in a car on the way to the Met Gala.)
Michael Ariano, global head of public relations for Marc Jacobs, said he was chased down the street by a group of screaming protesters, his neighbors were harassed and slogans such as “Michael Ariano is a murderer” were written in chalk on the ground. in front of his apartment.
In the last week, there have been six arrests related to the protests, Klein said, including one incident involving a broken window at the company’s headquarters in SoHo. During another incident, the husband of a Marc Jacobs executive was also arrested after taking a cellphone belonging to a protester outside his Brooklyn home, Ariano confirmed.
“It’s very frustrating, because the very principles and laws that we revere can be taken advantage of and turn into radical harassment,” Ariano said, referring to the first amendment.
The protests have not only affected Marc Jacobs employees, but also their neighbors. Laura Neilson, a writer who lives in the same East Village building as a senior director at Marc Jacobs, said she spent Memorial Day helping clean up fake blood splattered on the facade and chalk etched on the sidewalk throughout her apartment. of 60 units. building.
About two dozen protesters demonstrated for about 30 minutes. They knocked on apartment doors, trying to get into the building, Neilson said. The target of the protest was not home at the time, but an elderly neighbor and several pets were distraught by the commotion.
“It was very scary,” said Neilson, who has contributed freelance articles to The New York Times. “It looked like a zombie apocalypse, the way they were all standing out front, looking out the windows.”
LVMH, the French luxury group that owns Marc Jacobs, declined to comment.
These protests represent an escalation of tactics by anti-fur groups like PETA, which had previously focused on disrupting parades and store operations.
The anti-fur movement has been largely successful in its efforts to force fashion houses to stop using fur, and almost all runway brands have adopted fake fur as fabric and avoided the use of former luxury staples like the mink and the sable. Fashion magazines like Elle have also stopped photographing real fur, and department stores like Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Nordstrom no longer sell real fur.
As a result, the fur-free cause has turned to leather, as well as exotic skins such as python and ostrich. In a statement, Tracy Reiman, executive vice president of PETA, applauded Jacobs’ official renouncement of fur, saying, “we hope Jacobs saves more animal skins by also banning leather.”
Klein said CAFT will soon announce plans to attack fashion brand Max Mara over its use of fur.
“It’s easy to ignore us when we’re outside one of your stores,” Klein said, noting that up to 40 Marc Jacobs employees were on the list for future at-home protests. “It’s impossible to ignore us when we’re outside your homes.”