Italian fashion icon Giorgio Armani has broken his promise to stop using fur in his collections, animal rights organisation Peta said Monday.
Speaking in Rome, Peta vice president Dan Mathews expressed his disappointment over the designer's volte-face and said protesters would demonstrate in front of the flagship Emporio Armani store in Milan on Tuesday with giant posters showing Armani dressed as fib-telling puppet Pinocchio.
''Giorgio Armani has not kept his word: a year ago he said he would not use fur any more, and instead in the new autumn collection there are jackets and skirts decorated with fur and even snow suits for children with real fur inserts,'' Mathews said.
He added that Peta will also present a new documentary revealing the truth about rabbit farms and slaughterhouses in France and China, from where the organisation claims Armani gets his supplies.
''To satisfy a whim of luxury he is condemning an enormous number of rabbits to a life of suffering and violent death in China, a nation in which there are no laws to protect animals,'' said Mathews, who in the past has successfully persuaded designers Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger to permanently abandon fur.
Peta said that ''since Armani has refused to see with his own eyes how animals are mutilated for his collections'', it has begun lobbying Hollywood celebrities who wear his designs to public events - including actors Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, Cate Blanchett and Glenn Close - to put pressure on the designer.
Among the stars who have already appealed to Armani on Peta's behalf are Pamela Anderson, Paul McCartney and X-Files star Gillian Anderson, the organisation added.
Peta warned it will keep a close watch on what stars are wearing on the red carpet at the Oscars next February.
''We're asking a lot from people: to change what they eat and wear. If our cause is supported by famous people the message arrives sooner,'' Mathews said.
This is the second time in three months that Armani has ignited the wrath of animal rights activists.
In July the 100% Animalisti group fly-postered the Emporio Armani megastore during the night informing customers of the designer's support for bullfighting after he designed a special outfit for a famous Spanish matador.
Armani had created a flowing outfit bordered in his trademark grey for bullfighter Cayetano Rivera Ordonez.
The activists were particularly enraged because at the time Armani was appearing on Italian TV in a publicity campaign against animal abandonment, declaring his love of animals and urging people not to ditch unwanted pets by the roadside as they set off for their summer holidays.
Armani is not the only Italian designer to ignore the unwritten no-fur rule in recent seasons.
In September last year fashion house Fendi, which has always been a fur fan, shrugged off the anti-fur lobby saying that its winter collection would be based on the idea that a fur coat was a must-have item for all women.
