Visa is latest big sponsor to end Milan Fashion Week deal due to fur

Visa has officially ended its partnership with Milan Fashion Week (MFW) over its continued use of fur, the Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade (CAFT) has announced.

CAFT said earlier this year that it was targeting MFW due to the ongoing presence of fur on its runways and Visa has become the third corporate sponsor after DHL and Wella to respond.

Protests have happened at Visa’s HQ and outside the home of its executives in London, Munich, and multiple US cities. Protestors have also directly targeted Carlo Capasa, president of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), disrupting a talk he was delivering and “confronting him” at the European Designer Fashion Summit in Barcelona on April 13, where he appeared on a panel alongside other European fashion industry leaders.

CAFT said its campaign will continue to target remaining MFW partners internationally “until Milan Fashion Week adopts a fur-free policy”.

Corporate sponsors are increasingly nervous about activist campaigns, particularly when events or brands they’re associated with are linked to issues such as poor worker treatment, pollution or, as in this case, animal cruelty.

Many labels showing in Milan have gone fur-free, but there remain some that still use it, including Fendi, whose roots are as a furrier. However, Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut collection there in February (for AW26/27) contained little to suggest this heritage and used less controversial materials such as shearling.

Most other major fashions seeks have banned fur with the CFDA announcing its ban for NYFW only as recently as late last year.