Fur flies at Fendi as Seoul puts ban on style house’s catwalk show

Fur flies at Fendi as Seoul puts ban on style house’s catwalk show

Style house Fendi has come under attack from the South Korean supervision for its plans to use fur in a high-profile runway show.

The Italian firm was set to hold an important style show in Seoul City next month before officials stepped in to demand they remove all fur from the show, or face a ban.

‘We have clearly confirmed social sentiment against fur goods,’ said Jong-Hyun Lee, spokesman for the Seoul City Government.

Fendi had planned to show 40 looks from the autumn/winter collection, including 20 fur items, as part of a series of events to introduction a new cultural centre built on the floating islands of Seoul’s Han River.

The City’s new edict comes in the wake of protest from Korea’s animal rights activist groups, and contradicts an earlier statement released by the Seoul government saying fur would be included in the upcoming show.

The media release confirming the style house’s use of fur was met with heavy criticism from animal rights pressure groups, forcing an about-turn by the government.

Korean officials warned Fendi they must remove items containing fur from the catwalk show, but received a rebuttal by the style house.

Nowadays the City has threatened the show will be cancelled altogether if Fendi will not promise to show a fur-free collection.

A cancellation would would be a serious blow for the style house, which counts on the Asian market for much of its support.

The occasion was set to be of a similar scale to one held on the Great Wall of China in 2007, which Fendi’s Korea office claims attracted 532 million viewers globaly.

Fendi say the recent no-fur ruling has come as a surprise.

‘I met with Seoul City Government officials previous March and at this meeting there was agreed mutual excitement and cooperation for the execution of this premier event,’ Fendi CEO Michael Burke told abc newscast.