2008 Woodie Awards
A hairy situation
Melissa Davis
Issue date: 9/23/04 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
Going to Marist's fashion department at midnight and finding an anti-fur sign posted on the glass doors is not an everyday occurrence. However, this is what was found last Wednesday, Sept. 15. Signs reading, "Do you have a conscience?" were accompanied by pictures of a skinned animal were posted along the hallway and on the glass display cases in Donnelly.
Director of the fashion program Heather Osgood said that although certain flyers on display in department might seem to advocate the use of fur in fashion, that is not the case.
"Those signs were part of a class where the goal was to learn Photoshop and graphic layout," she said. "It saddens me that they think we advocate fur use." Students made the signs as projects in Principles of Apparel Design, taught during the spring semester of 2004 by Professor Richard Kramer.
The use of fur has been a heavy debate in the fashion world. Posters proclaiming, "The most stylish way to beat the weather this season ... think mink!" from 1972 in Vogue, hung in the fashion department which may be what provoked the protest posters. "They put up these signs in a guerilla manner, before we [the fashion department] could respond, to tell the world that we were wrong," Osgood said.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has had a number of confrontations with former Vogue editor Anna Wintour a strong fur advocate. One of current Vogue editor Sally Singer's picks for the top fall fashion is a "mushroom-hued mink," according to Style.com, the online home to Vogue and W magazines.
PETA is known for its use of guerilla protesting. During the 2000 New York City Fashion Week, PETA protesters threw pies at designers who used fur in their designs. In an interview, published in the New York Times Magazine, PETA head RaeLeann Smith said, "You can't beat the messenger for the way the message is delivered. We do what we need to. Any designer who's continuing to support an industry that profits from making animals fashion victims - he might as well be walking around with a tofu-cream-pie target on him, quite frankly."
Was the stealth protesting just a means to an end? The people who put these signs up obviously feel that the fashion department is advocating the use of animals in the fashion world. Though it seems that the departments stand depends on whom you ask. But what should the protesters have done, gone to College Activities to get their posters out and their opinion heard? Senior Psychology/Special Education student, Kerri Kannengeiser says, "[The Fashion Department] didn't have to get their posters approved. We should be able to voice both sides of the same debate. I am glad these posters are up."
Director of the fashion program Heather Osgood said that although certain flyers on display in department might seem to advocate the use of fur in fashion, that is not the case.
"Those signs were part of a class where the goal was to learn Photoshop and graphic layout," she said. "It saddens me that they think we advocate fur use." Students made the signs as projects in Principles of Apparel Design, taught during the spring semester of 2004 by Professor Richard Kramer.
The use of fur has been a heavy debate in the fashion world. Posters proclaiming, "The most stylish way to beat the weather this season ... think mink!" from 1972 in Vogue, hung in the fashion department which may be what provoked the protest posters. "They put up these signs in a guerilla manner, before we [the fashion department] could respond, to tell the world that we were wrong," Osgood said.
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has had a number of confrontations with former Vogue editor Anna Wintour a strong fur advocate. One of current Vogue editor Sally Singer's picks for the top fall fashion is a "mushroom-hued mink," according to Style.com, the online home to Vogue and W magazines.
PETA is known for its use of guerilla protesting. During the 2000 New York City Fashion Week, PETA protesters threw pies at designers who used fur in their designs. In an interview, published in the New York Times Magazine, PETA head RaeLeann Smith said, "You can't beat the messenger for the way the message is delivered. We do what we need to. Any designer who's continuing to support an industry that profits from making animals fashion victims - he might as well be walking around with a tofu-cream-pie target on him, quite frankly."
Was the stealth protesting just a means to an end? The people who put these signs up obviously feel that the fashion department is advocating the use of animals in the fashion world. Though it seems that the departments stand depends on whom you ask. But what should the protesters have done, gone to College Activities to get their posters out and their opinion heard? Senior Psychology/Special Education student, Kerri Kannengeiser says, "[The Fashion Department] didn't have to get their posters approved. We should be able to voice both sides of the same debate. I am glad these posters are up."