This time the magic is real. That's the promotional catchphrase for Disney's latest version of 101 Dalmations. The 1961 original release was, of course, a cartoon. In the 1996 update, humans and dogs are genuine. The fur, however, is definitely fake.
When Glenn Close screeches her way through the English countryside as the spectacularly over-the-top fashion designer Cruella DeVil - 'I love the smell of near extinction!' - you can be assured the pelts in which she is swathed have never been on an animal's back.
Some of the costumes, created by three-time Oscar-winner Anthony Powell, were on display at a flamboyant fashion show held on Monday night as part of a film premiere organised by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).
Cruella's wardrobe is truly gasp-worthy - the DeVil, after all, always gets the best threads. Also on show were 10 outfits specially designed by students from the Institute of Textiles and Clothing at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a selection of Disney merchandise, and a range of items from Boutique Bazaar (Claude Montana, Krizia and John Richmond outfits).
'We laid down ground rules for the show,' said SPCA executive director Doreen Davies. 'There was to be no fur at all on any of the clothes. And we got a statement from Disney categorically saying that no fur was used during the filming. We're entirely against animals being bred, trapped . . . it's beyond the pale.' Such conviction in what is currently a rather naughty fashion industry. There is every indication that after years in the wilderness, fur is making a comeback on the catwalk.
Last September, American Vogue editor Anna Wintour decided to come out in favour of furriers, announcing that she could see no difference between 'raising animals for hamburgers and farming minks for fur coats'.
Two dogs - not Dalmatians - being cuddled by models featured on that month's cover, prompting this salvo from a furious reader: 'I doubt that you would want those adorable puppies to be raised in cages, isolated, then electrocuted or gassed to death, but that is what happens to 'ranched' fur-bearing animals.' The enormously influential American Vogue had inflicted considerable damage. To make matters worse, Wintour's words dealt more with trends than morals.
