[Joan Jett and Todd Oldham, image via Peta.org, taken by Film Magic]
On Thursday night, Stella McCartney opened her Meatpacking District boutique for a celebrity-hosted PETA event. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals teamed up with Tim Gunn of Project Runway, and actresses Taraji P. Henson and Olivia Munn. The main event of the night was a short, informative video narrated by Tim Gunn, which showed in graphic detail the pain that various animals suffer in the name of fashion.
After the video, Tim Gunn discussed his involvement with PETA at Parsons, arranging lectures to inform the students about the cruelty of fur. Taraji P. Henson admitted that she wore fur enthusiastically until she watched the HBO documentary, “I Am Animal.” Recently, she posed nude for a new PETA ad, which reads, “Fur? I’d rather go naked.”
There was no demonstration, no paint-flinging, no naked protesters. It was simply a fun and fashionable event to get across an important message without outrageous antics or over-the-top ideology.
–Vivi Fragou
