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 having no more feathers in time for the fall of 2023.

"The group is committed through its four brands to having completely eliminated duck feathers and d 'goose by fall 2023 season,' a spokesperson told WWD.

The company has been slowly switching to alternative materials for several seasons, they added. The transition will be completed by the fall collections.

"SMCP's compassionate decision is great news for birds who will be spared the agony of raw plumage and a violent death at the slaughterhouse," PETA Director of Corporate Projects Yvonne Taylor said. "We celebrate this decision and call on other brands to follow suit and sever ties with the abusive and cruel down industry."

Related Galleries

This follows the band's commitment to no longer use exotic furs and skins in the spring 2020, Claudie Pierlot becoming the last SMCP brand to do so. Sandro stopped using fur after his fall 2018 collection, and Maje ditched the animal product after his fall-winter 2019 collection. SMCP acquired his 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 for all SMCP brands improved by 9.4% despite the gradual shutdowns in the main market of China. Sales exceeded 308 million euros over the period, stimulated by tourist 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 off 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's creative directors, Evelyne and Ilan Chetrite, came up with eclectic prints with a Y2K twist.