We aren’t celebrating…we’re ESCALATING!

Carlo Capasa and CNMI may think that these weak guidelines will be enough to get the anti-fur movement off their backs…but we say: THINK AGAIN.

Recommending to brands that they not use fur, without actually enforcing it, is doing the animals suffering on fur farms a disservice. It is a cowardly move on the part of CNMI as they cower down to pressure from LVMH and Fendi, who are notorious animal abusers and supporters of the fur industry.

So, let’s bring even more pressure. The animals are depending on YOUR success. And there are plenty more MFW sponsors that need to be educated about the horrors of the fur industry.

CALL TO ACTION:

From June 19 – 23 we need EVERYONE out on the streets demanding an official and enforceable fur ban on the runways of Milan Fashion Week.

We aren’t buying their corporate humane-washing as they try to put a positive spin on their inaction.

There are plenty of targets: Ray-Ban, EssilorLuxottica, and more.

If you’re willing to travel, join us in Milan from June 19 -23 during the Men’s Spring/Summer runway shows! Sign-up here.

PRESS RELEASE BELOW:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Milan Fashion Week’s Fur-Free Recommendation Falls Short of the Ban Advocates Are Demanding

International (May 18, 2026) – Milan Fashion Week has released guidelines asking brands not to show fur on its runways. However, brands are under no obligation to listen. Anti-fur advocates are saying this is not enough.

Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), the event’s governing body, announced Friday that it will no longer promote fur on its runways. But the policy is a recommendation, not a rule, meaning brands can still show fur without consequence.

Additionally, the recommendations exclude vintage/upcycled fur and fur sourced by indigenous communities through subsistence hunting. Until CNMI follows London and New York Fashion Weeks with an outright ban, it will remain the target of the global anti-fur campaign launched by the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) on January 8 — one that has already produced more than 121 protests across 39 cities and 12 countries in just four months.

Suzie Stork, CAFT’s Executive Director, states: “By issuing a recommendation to not use fur, CNMI and Carlo Capasa are acknowledging that confining and killing millions of animals for luxury fashion causes tremendous suffering and is an entirely unnecessary and unethical practice. And yet they still lack the courage to ban it outright. One has to wonder whether the pressure from Fendi, one of the few brands still using fur, is simply too great. CNMI is choosing to protect the interests of LVMH over the reputation of Italian fashion and the ethical standards the rest of the industry is moving toward.” 

She adds: “This will not be enough to get us off their backs. CAFT will continue to campaign against CNMI and educate its sponsors until an actual ban is in place.”

Following sustained protest campaigns — including demonstrations at the private residences of executives and directors of corporate sponsors — CNMI lost three major sponsors: Wella, DHL, and Visa, the most recent of which departed just last month.

Anti-fur activists are now turning their attention to CNMI’s water partner, Acqua Fiuggi, and its business associates. Last Friday, more than 100 protesters gathered outside the Washington, D.C. home of an EssilorLuxottica executive — a company linked to Acqua Fiuggi through Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, who holds a controlling stake in both.

CAFT is now calling on activists around the globe to protest Milan Fashion Week and its affiliates during a week of action from June 19 – 23 to coincide with the Men’s Spring/Summer 2027 presentations in Milan. 

About CAFT
The Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) is a grassroots organization dedicated to dismantling the global fur industry through hard-hitting, volunteer-driven, decentralized pressure campaigns. CAFT represents activists around the world who expose the cruelty of fur farming and hold corporations accountable for their exploitation of fur-bearing animals.

For more information, visit abolishfur.org or follow CAFT on Instagram @caftusa.

Pictures and videos of Milan Fashion Week and sponsor protests here.

Media Contact:
Suzie Stork

Executive Director 

310-853-3476

[email protected]