Sandro, Maje Go Down- and Feather-free
PARIS — French accessible luxury fashion group SMCP, parent company of Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Fursac, has committed to go feather-free in time for fall 2023.
“The group is committed through its four brands to having completely eliminated duck and goose feathers by the fall 2023 season,” a spokesperson told WWD.
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The company has slowly been making the shift to down alternative materials for several seasons, they added. The transition will be complete by the fall collections.
“SMCP’s compassionate decision is great news for the birds who will be spared the agony of live plucking and a violent death at the slaughterhouse,” said PETA director of corporate projects Yvonne Taylor. “We celebrate this move and call on other brands to follow suit and cut ties with the abusive and cruel down industry.”
This follows the group’s commitment to stop using fur and exotic skins in spring 2020, with Claudie Pierlot becoming the last SMCP brand to do so. Sandro stopped using fur after its fall collection in 2018, and Maje dropped the animal product after its fall-winter 2019 collection. SMCP acquired its men’s brand Fursac in September 2019.
SMCP has 1,684 stores in 43 countries. In the latest financial report covering the third quarter of 2022, organic sales improved across SMCP brands by 9.4 percent despite rolling shutdowns in the major market of China. Sales topped 308 million euros in the reporting period, boosted by tourism flows in France and the EMEA region. The quarter marked an all-time sales record for the company.
For the spring collections, Claudie Pierlot showed classic Parisian cuts and debuted a new logo; Judith Milgrom’s Maje was in party mode with bright colors on crochet, fringe and florals, and Sandro artistic directors Evelyne and Ilan Chetrite offered up eclectic prints with a Y2K flair.
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