The PETA VS Olsens war continues.
No matter how stylish you are, or how many accolades you receive as a designer, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, will target you for wearing fur and skin.
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, the fashion-savvy twins behind The Row and other successful clothing lines, are no strangers to PETA’s campaigns, but now there’s a website dedicated to the duo’s fur ways.
Dubbed The Trollsens, it may read like a hilarious prank, but it isn’t. This past weekend, the organisation renowned for targeting A-list stars with a passion for skin and fur, launched the peta2.com/trollsens site dedicated to the designing sisters and their material choices. The site allows PETA fans to dress the “fatal fashion” Hairy-Kate (Mary-Kate) and Trashley (Ashley) in head-to-toe pieces (including dresses, coats, bags, stilettos and scarves that feature skin and fur) accessorised with blood-dripping detail for maximum shock value. If that’s not enough to drive home the message of anti-skin and anti-fur use, the site features a "PETA friendly" version of the show that propelled the twins to stardom, Full House. Renamed Full House of Horrors, it tells the story of a fictional Michelle (played by the twins in the original series) who grows up to become a “fur hag” and the Tanner family’s choice to disown her.
PETA’s disliking of the fashionable Mary-Kate and Ashley dates back to their early days in the spotlight in which they showcased a love for fur and skin, but it’s their newly-launched and costly fur accessory that’s inspired this virtual campaign.
As part of their award-winning line, The Row, the Olsens designed a fur-laden backpack priced at just under $17 000. The backpack has already been spotted on the streets of New York, and no matter how coveted it is, as far as PETA’s activists are concerned, it should never have been produced in the first place.
“If it looks like a troll and acts like a troll, it’s probably a Trollsen Twin – or someone wearing one of their new $16,000 totes, which are made from the fur and skins of innocent animals. What the Olsens lack in creativity, they try to make up for in shock value. Sadly, it’s the foxes, calves, and alligators – who often have the fur ripped off them while they are still conscious and able to feel pain – who pay the dearest price”, is the statement given by PETA to E! News.
The multi-colour fur backpack is available in alligator and calfskin. It forms part of the Olsen’s award-winning line, The Row. In June, Mary-Kate and Ashley won the coveted CFDA Designer of the Year Womenswear Award for this line.
