The winners and losers in PETA’s end of year Fashion Awards

Every year, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) awards the brands and individuals that it believes have made the biggest impact and contribution to the welfare of animals. In doing so, the organisation intends to inspire more progress throughout the industry, encouraging more of what it dubs “cruelty-free fashion”.

Since 2023, the awards have expanded to include recognitions for both the UK and the US, allowing for a wider scope of honourees to receive PETA’s stamp of approval. For 2024, it was Victoria’s Secret and Stella McCartney that snapped up the top spots in this edition of the US awards.

Stella McCartney and Victoria’s Secret take top spots

The lingerie brand was recognised as 2024 Company of the Year by PETA due to a departure from its former reliance on animal feathers to create runway looks. For the brand’s return to the runway this year, “angel wings” were instead created using Swarovski crystals and 3D printed materials.

McCartney, meanwhile, who is already a PETA favourite, was labelled the “go-to brand for luxurious, sustainable, vegan pieces”, a title that was only emphasised by the launch of her winter 2024 campaign, ‘It’s About F**king Time to Save the Animals”. In a statement, the designer said it was an honour and privilege to be named Person of the Year, stating that she has felt “committed to this courageous, rebellious, kick-ass movement since [she] was very young”.

For the UK awards, those who came out on top this year were that of Marc Jacobs, awarded the Best Luxury Moment for confirming a ban on wild-animal skins; Ugg, which was recognised for the Best Vegan Shoes following its collaboration with Collina Strada; and H&M, the recipient of the Best High-Street Fashion Moment for banning newly produced down.

Material innovations dominate honourees

A large segment of the awards was dedicated to brands that had implemented animal-friendly innovations into their supply chains this year. Ecopel launched a plastic-free fur alternative dubbed ‘Flur’, which won it the Best Vegan Fur prize, while Fibe was recognised for its potato-derived fabric, thus seeing it selected for Innovation of the Year.

Best Vegan Wool went to Italy’s Opera Campi, which utilised hemp for its alternative material, and Pangaia’s Gaia piece was named Best Vegan Bag for utilising the leather-free fabric Mirum. Gymshark was further selected for its Sherpa Puffer Jacket, featuring recycled filler, giving it the title of Best Vegan Puffer Jacket.

Individuals were also named as award recipients. Prince William, for example, was selected for the Red Carpet award for his choice to wear banana fibre sneakers by Bananatex to the Earthshot Prize. Handbag designer Melina Bucher, meanwhile, won the Progress Award for launching a vegan leather atelier. Copenhagen Fashion Week received the Best Catwalk Moment recognition in response to its decision to ban wild-animal skins and feathers from its runway.

As always, PETA also named and shamed those that it actively disproved of for the year. Pharrell Williams was named Villain of the Year for his refusal to ban fur and wild-animal skins from his collections at Louis Vuitton, where he is serving as creative director. Model and the wife of Christiano Ronaldo, Georgina Rodríguez, meanwhile, was dubbed the Worst Dressed for regularly opting to wear fur and animal skins despite backlash from animal rights activists.