PETA retires iconic "I'd rather go naked..." campaign

Animal rights group PETA had retired its iconic "I'd rather go naked than wear fur" campaign that has run for three decades and has featured countless well-known women posing nude to demonstrate their opposition to wearing real fur.

The organisation said it was focusing its efforts on leather and wool as the fashion industry heads into its next round of Fashion Weeks.

PETA said the demise of the global fur trade and the shift away from fur from some of the world's leading designers including Gucci, Burberry, Versace, Tom Ford, Chanel, Diane von Furstenberg, John Galliano, Michael Kors and many others, had encouraged it to focus its attentions elsewhere.

Eva Mendes

"Nearly every top designer – including Vivienne Westwood and Burberry – has shed fur, Britain has banned its production, California has banned the sale of it, Queen Elizabeth II has renounced it, and retailers such as Selfridges and Topshop refuse to sell it," says PETA Director of International Programmes Mimi Bekhechi. "With fur in a downward spiral, PETA will expand its efforts to expose the violent leather and wool trades."

London Fashion Week is now fur free as on schedule designers have voluntarily ditched real fur and last year Her Majesty the Queen backed the anti-fur movement with her personal dresser saying that the monarch would now only wear faux fur.

Pamela Anderson

The "I'd Rather Go Naked..." campaign was launched in 1990 when all-female band The Go-Gos kicked it off with an "I'd Rather Go-Go Naked..." ad. Since then women such as Pamela Anderson, Kim Basinger, Pink, Gemma Collins, Eva Mendes and dozens of others have backed the campaign.

Gillian Anderson

Among the outspoken feminists who have participated is Gillian Anderson – who launched her PETA ad on International Women's Day, stating: "This is my body. It's mine to do with as I please. And today, I'm using it to stand up for animals and their right to exist as they please – with their skin still attached, naturally. My nakedness also makes a bigger statement. As an actor who is usually unusually modest, suddenly I find myself concerned that modern feminism has too many people confusing sexy with sexist."

Images: courtesy of PETA.