Amazing news for animal lovers: Giorgio Armani has announced that as of Autumn/Winter 2016, the designer does not intend to use fur in any of his future collections.

In a statement, Giorgio Armani announced ‘that the Armani Group has made a firm commitment to abolish the use of animal fur in its collections… Technological process made over the years allows us to have valid alternatives at our disposition that render the use of cruel practices unnecessary as regards animals.’

After working with the Fur Free Allicence, made up of over 40 animal-protection organisations all with the objective on putting an end to the fur trade, the Armani group has committed to the new anti-fur policy ‘reflecting [their] attention to the critical issues of protecting and caring for the environment and animals.’

Although the fashion industry still has a long way to go, cruelty-free fashion is already advocated by many designers, including Stella McCartney, Calvin Klein, Vivienne Westwood and Tommy Hilfiger, who have for years being producing progressive collections, free from fur. Likewise, here at ELLE we do not feature any real-fur or exotic skins on our pages.

Armani’s announcement is a reason for celebration and step in the right direction towards a more conscious fashion industry. Hopefully it won’t be long before an influx of designers embrace the new technologies and cruelty-free fashion for good.