‘Bloody Snake in a Giant Cake’: PETA France Stages Gory Protest at Louis Vuitton Show

Exotic-Skins Action Coincides With LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault’s 75^th Birthday

Paris – As LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault turned 75 today, PETA France marked the occasion by serving up food for thought outside the fashion show of Louis Vuitton, which is owned by the fashion conglomerate. Body-painted as a bloodied snake and wearing a giant cake costume, French actor Céline Durand wished Arnault an unhappy birthday and called on him to end the suffering of snakes, crocodiles, alligators, and other wildlife in the name of “luxury” fashion by banning exotic skins from Louis Vuitton’s collections.

Photos from the action are available here. Credit: Maximilien Sporschill

“While Bernard Arnault celebrates his 75^th birthday, the snakes, crocodiles, alligators, and other animals who are crudely killed at a young age so that they can be turned into Louis Vuitton fashion accessories have nothing to celebrate,” says PETA Vice President for Europe Mimi Bekhechi. “It’s past time for brands like Louis Vuitton to stop using the skin of mutilated animals, especially with cruelty-free, high-end options readily available.”

PETA entities have repeatedly exposed the cruelty inherent in the exotic-skins industry, including within Louis Vuitton’s own supply chain. An investigation into Vietnamese crocodile farms linked to the brand showed crocodiles held in concrete pits before being violently killed. A PETA Asia investigation into two python slaughterhouses in Indonesia that supplied LVMH revealed that workers hit snakes over the head with hammers before inflating them with water and stripping them of their skin – likely while the animals were still conscious.

Last season, PETA France teamed up with influencer Jeremstar, who was arrested following his protest outside the Louis Vuitton show. This season, activists also stormed the catwalks of Burberry (in London), Coach (in New York), Fendi (in Milan), and Victoria Beckham (in Paris) to protest the use of animal skin.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on X, Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram.

Contact:

Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]

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