Gallery: PETA Parodies NY Fashion Week...

Just in time for New York Fashion Week, a new parody video from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals about the use of exotic skins on the runway. In a reversal of roles, foxes, antelopes, and seals strut on the catwalk in grisly outfits derived from human parts, while naked people, surrounded by bloody carcasses and body parts, are confined to cages backstage. The camera homes in on a young Chinese girl, the only caged human clearly visible, as she quivers from cold and fear. It’s somewhat of a “gotcha” moment, all the more shocking because of the whimsical atmosphere that precedes it.

TURNED TABLES

The three-minute clip is the product of Ogilvy & Mather, one of the world’s top advertising agencies, at its Beijing office. China, according to PETA spokeswoman Shakira Croce is the group’s “number-one target for its lack of animal-protection penalties, despite its massive production of leather and fur.”

The video is designed to provoke debate without targeting a specific brand or drawing the ire of Chinese officials.

Because of the Asian nation’s restrictions on freedom of speech, Ogilvy & Mather designed the short to provoke debate among young consumers without targeting a specific brand or drawing the ire of trade officials, Croce tells Ecouterre. “Our ad doesn’t finger any particular country or even just fur but rather challenges the entire concept of killing animals and wearing their skins,” she adds.

This isn’t the first time PETA’s timed a public service announcement with New York Fashion Week. In 2012, the organization planned to run a video of Stella McCartney, explaining why she doesn’t use fur or leather, on taxi screens across Manhattan. VeriFone Media, which manages advertising and media programming in nearly 12,000 of the city’s yellow cabs, however, rejected the spot.

+ Runway Reversal

+ People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals