Pharrell has been publicly called out by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) after he introduced a new luxury item for Louis Vuitton that has been deemed unethical due to its components.
On Monday (November 8), the LV men’s creative director launched the Millionaire Speedy bag, priced at a whopping $1,000,000. The listing boasts its source material of crocodile skin, which a lot of animal-rights activists are taking issue with.
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PETA Senior VP Lisa Lange has now directly addressed the Virginia native in an open letter that was shared on Wednesday (November 8).
“When you were made men’s creative director of Louis Vuitton, we hoped animals would get lucky and that you would choose vegan fabrics, which are the preference of today’s ethical and environmentally conscious consumers,” she began. “But we aren’t happy to note your newest design, the ‘Millionaire’ Speedy bag, which is crafted from crocodile skin, because when it comes to animals being used for fashion, it isn’t beautiful — it’s abuse.”
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After detailing the cruel conditions under which such products are made, she concluded: “We’d like to invite you on a less-than-luxurious tour of a filthy (for that’s what they are) crocodile factory farm with us to see the living origins of your ‘Millionaire’ bag.
“You’d want to bring along nose plugs and high boots to wade through fetid, waste-filled water. If we go to an indoor tank, also bring a flashlight, because you won’t see daylight. There are no blurred lines here. Killing wildlife for a bag isn’t cool — it’s cold. Are you up for this trip?”
Prior to the item’s official release, the Neptunes producer showed Kendrick Lamar the duffle bag, which has become one of the most coveted pieces that he’s designed for Louis Vuitton so far.
Earlier this year, pictures of Skateboard P, K. Dot and Dave Free linking up surfaced online. In them, Pharrell could be seen holding the yellow alligator-print bag while Kendrick and Free looked at it in awe.
“Every part on the bag is [gold]. This is different. This is called the Millionaire. It comes with millionaires,” the “Happy” hitmaker flaunted as he first unveiled the accessory back in June. “Every bit of the bag is gold like the zipper, the teeth on the zipper is gold, all the hardware, every rivet. This is gold. Obviously diamonds. This chain is real. It has a real strap but you know — so be it, so be it.”
The LV Speedy bag was a standout from Pharrell’s first collection as Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director, which he debuted at Paris Fashion Week in front of a star-studded audience over the summer.
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According to a Louis Vuitton press release, Pharrell’s designer bag is intended to “[conjure] the attitude and hustle mentality of Canal Street in an everyday icon conceived for every walk of life.”
