The Daisies singer is an animal lover, but does she wear real fur when it comes to her clothing?
Katy Perry has worn real animal fur on some occasions in the past, but she seems to have given up on wearing it now. She came under fire for using rabbit fur in one of the shoes she designed for her brand Katy Perry Collections. In fact, she often faces criticism by animal advocates or by the media for being racially insensitive.
Read on to learn about such scandals that Katy has been involved in!
Katy Perry Has Her Own Shoe Brand
Katy Perry has a brand called Katy Perry Collections, which sells shoes and handbags that she designs herself. Back in 2013, when her album Prism was topping music charts and becoming a best-seller, Katy began working on this brand in secret. The brand launched in 2017, but Katy spent the few years before that having clandestine meetings with veterans of the fashion industry – like Tommy Hilfiger and the late Vince Camuto – in the most inspiring fashion destinations – like the Tuscany factories in Italy. Once she had learnt all she needed to know about the shoe business, she launched her brand with the brand management company, Global Brands Group Holding Ltd. — which also owns and manages many other fashion and entertainment brands.
At the time of the launch, Katy spoke about her brand, saying, “[Footwear] was a part of me that needed to be carefully created and developed, and I had to weigh a lot of my options.,” Perry told Footwear News in an exclusive interview. “So for about three years, I was educating myself on the business and [thinking about] who would be a great partner.”
The line has Katy Perry written all over it – it aims to combine affordability with her bold, signature style. Some signature Katy touches include shoes with cigar-shaped heels, and even heels that look like gold nuggets. Nugget is the name of one of Katy’s dogs, and is also her favorite comfort food. She describes the line as, “vibrant, expressive and defining.”
Katy Perry Collections Has Come Under Fire Many Times
Despite being a fan favorite for the most part, Katy’s line has come under fire for being problematic more than once. For instance, one of her pumps called the Jessica – based on Jessica Rabbit – has a pom-pom at the back which is made from rabbit fur from China. Despite backlash, this shoe is still available for purchase on Amazon. Katy herself has been seen wearing real animal fur in public quite a few times.
This isn’t the only time the brand has come under fire – it recently announced it would remove two designs from stores after they were criticized for evoking blackface imagery.
This also isn’t the only time Katy Perry herself has come under fire for being racially insensitive. She was called out for after her 2013 American Music Awards performance for dressing as a Geisha. Her music video for Dark Horse, which came out the next year, was critiqued for her portrayal in it of a Cleopatra-like figure, and for the fact that she wears a necklace that depicted Allah – the Arabic word for God – but engulfed in flames. This section was removed after mass outrage.
Speaking to Rolling Stone about her cultural appropriation accusations, Katy said, “People would just love to make it a thing so that I would have to put out a public apology so that they feel like ‘We’ve got control of her success. It came from an honest place. If there was any inkling of anything bad, then it wouldn’t be there, because I’m very sensitive to people.”
Katy Has Been Accused of Animal Mistreatment
Katy’s music video for Roar was accused of animal mistreatment by the animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The music video stars many animals, including a monkey, an elephant, birds, a crocodile, and a tiger. PETA alleged that keeping animals on a set during shooting can be traumatic for them – the bright lights, crowds, and noise can scare the animals and make them anxious.
Katy’s response was a letter from the American Humane Association, which read, “American Humane Association was on set for the filming of the above-referenced music video, which used an elephant, a monkey, birds, and a tiger. After reviewing the reports, we believe that the Guidelines for the Safe Use of Animals in Filmed Media were followed and that no animal was harmed in the making of this music video.”