Paris (AFP)

French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier told AFP on Wednesday that he could return to fur if he was completely sure of traceability, but that in the meantime he would recycle his old stocks behind the scenes of his first fashion show. without fur in Paris.

The creator announced in November that he renounced fur, a "strong gesture" then welcomed by the associations for the protection of animals. The French fur industry does not, however, lose hope that it will change its mind in the name of national luxury craftsmanship.

- How did you design your first fur-free collection?

It is a collection entirely without fur, with fur prints, it is a trompe-l'oeil, by far it is believed that it is fur.

The inspiration for this collection is the "fur-free" but it's still pretty happy, it's not funeral fur, not at all.

I made the "fox" and to exaggerate the effect fur coat I have dudounes with their relief that accentuate the three-dimensional side that fur. I also have "furs" in feathers, jewelry, rhinestones, full of materials. The birds are obviously not slaughtered: we pay attention.

I really like fur, I think it's absolutely beautiful and very hot, but now we can get to have it differently.

As long as it is not well established (how animals are treated and slaughtered in farms, ed), I prefer not to do any more or to recycle old ones to me, coats that I made 15 years ago that have not been sold and with whom I can do something else. I wanted to show that you can have the fur effect while being hot and it's just a kind of wink.

- You do not exclude going back to the fur one day?

I'm getting old now, will I still wear clothes when we stop the massacre? For me, it's more about recycling. We are in a time when there is too much of everything, so it is not worth killing animals.

We have to recycle the clothes, which I have done since I started, in my first collection I recycled old jeans, stuff in camouflage, I cut them in all directions. I think that with fur you can do the same thing. I think it's a good way, do not burn clothes.

- Is fur still fashionable?

At one time I loved fur as a material, but what I did not like was the image of women who wore fur, it was the image of the woman maintained by a very rich old gentleman. It was a bit of a cliché. I find that women have fortunately gone beyond this for a long time: fur is no longer synonymous with that.

I have a charming little cat, I like animals, crocodiles to the limit do not bother me.

Go back to the real fur yes, but by making every effort to make sure everything is correct, obviously not the endangered wildlife.

For now, calm things down.

neo / ial / nm

? 2019 AFP