Weekend Onesie:
There's No Business For Fur Business
A sign of the times?
The world has given Ribnick Furs the cold shoulder.
Announced last September, the landmark Ribnick Luxury Outerwear in North Loop has sold its building and shut its fur coat store for good last December, ending a stunning 76-year run and bragging rights as the last surviving fur retailer in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Announced last September, the landmark Ribnick Luxury Outerwear in North Loop has sold its building and shut its fur coat store for good last December, ending a stunning 76-year run and bragging rights as the last surviving fur retailer in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Is this a war PETA has won?
Let's hope so. There are better ways to keep warm, be fashionable, demonstrate privilege, and adorn one's self. I would like to think that being born into this world, raised in a cage, and then slaughtered, so a company can harvest your skin, sew it into a coat in order to make a profit is no longer something that takes place. There's certainly no need for it. There are synthetic, man-made alternatives.
In any event, this is a step in the right direction.
Who knows? If all goes well, one day plant-based foods will render another horribly abusive industry needless, as well.
This little victory brought to mind an iconic ad campaign; one that has persevered for decades. The faces that have presented themselves wrapped in a luxurious coat of death are all, indeed, legendary, as are the timeless photos of Richard Avedon, Bill King, and Rocco Laspata.
Here's a bit of trivia about the Blackglama ad campaign:
Began in 1968 and ended in 2017.
As of 1980, the models were never paid nor did their names appear on the ads. Instead, they each received a coat of their choice.Carol Burnett was the only one to turn down a coat and instead asked for the money to be donated to charity.
Dolly Parton, Katharine Hepburn and Jackie Onassis turned down repeated offers to star in the campaign.
Liza Minelli, Lillian Hellman and Bette Davis all posed with lit cigarettes.
Janet Jackson was featured in the campaign two consecutive years in a row (2010 and 2011.) Claudette Colbert also appeared twice (1970 and 1971.)
Andy Warhol was so fond of the Judy Garland ad in the campaign that he turned it into one of his famous colored silkscreens.
The only men to ever pose for the campaign were Ray Charles, Tommy Tune, Luciano Pavorotti and Rudolf Nureyev. Frank Sinatra bowed out at the last minute.
Three years after appearing in the ads, Brigette Bardot would retire from the industry and become an ardent animal rights activist.
In 1984 Joan Rivers did an homage of a Blackglama ad for the cover of her comedy album with the line altered to read "What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most?"
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Ah, yes... there's nothing like a famous face to sell death. Here are a few of the greats:
Ah, yes... there's nothing like a famous face to sell death. Here are a few of the greats:
Million Dollar Face - Rick Springfield
Lana Turner
Joan Crawford
Julie Andrews
Elizabeth Taylor
Cher
Ethel Merman
Jessye Norman
Liv Ullman
Ann Miller
Lucille Ball
Janet Jackson
Barbra Streisand
Lena Horne
Claudette Colbert
Audrey Hepburn
Pearl Bailey
Bette Davis
Anne Margaret
Sophia Loren
Angela Lansbury
Jessica Tandy
Gloria Swanson
Peggy Lee
Shirley MacLaine
Diana Ross
Faye Dunaway
Dinah Shore
Liza Minelli
Lillian Hellman
Barbara Stanwyck
Judy Garland
Catherine Deneuve
Joan Fontaine
Raquel Welch
c
Suzy Knickerbocker
Billion Dollar Babies - Alice Cooper
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5 comments:
This was a fabulous post! I still saw alot of fur in Europe the last time I was there. Maybe some of your European followers would chime in.
I remember those ads. Glam women, but maybe without the fur?
I'm so glad times are a-changin'.
I view your blog daily but rarely leave a comment. I am compelled today to thank you for this warm and fuzzy blast from the past. These ads for Blackglama Furs(in glorious black and white) are a true find that I remember from those years. As an insatiable lover of the silver cinema, especially movies from the 30s and 40s, these beautiful legends of film, music, literature, arts and entertainment are lovely to see again. I managed to identify all but 5 when I viewed the photos as a group before scrolling down and seeing their names. Yes, times change and so do attitudes about humane treatment of animals. My "sin" in the 70s and 80s was many, many leather jackets, one brown hooded bomber jacket trimmed with fox fur. Those days behind me now, I clad myself in warmth using only the seemingly inexhaustible supply of plastic and synthetic animal kind. :-) The Tracey Ullman putdown ad, spot on. No need to publish if you think it's too wordy, you just got my brain very excited this morning to see these pics again. Probably should have sent an email. Thanks again and have a great weekend.
I always enjoyed those Blackglama ads. I could never wait to see who the next model would be.
I of course like the look of fur,but despise the real thing to be worn. When I was working at Bloomingdales, I flat out refused to use real fur coats from our Fur Shop, Maximillion. And if we used a fur and it sold, we would get a 3% commission as the stylist. They weren't cheap coats. They started at 1,800 upwards to $25,000. I got told about my personal views, but I never gave in and they ended up asking my counterpart to feature the fur in her areas.
The months leading up to the pandemic, Bloomingdales made an announcement that they were finally banning real fur and anything with real fur on it from the stores, and all our in-house fur shops closed. YAY!!!!!!!
lOVED this post Upton! And I thank you for your love of animals!!!!
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