Following criticism from animal rights group PETA for using live butterflies in dresses, the founder of Japanese brand Undercover has apologized and promised to never feature living animals in his designs.

“I regret that I trapped butterflies that could fly freely in the sky,” said Jun Takahashi in a letter to PETA.

Undercover’s “terrarium” dresses, which contained flowers and live butterflies, were a moment of ethereal beauty during the label’s Spring-Summer 2024 show at Paris Fashion Week in September, but the gowns sparked concern among animal rights activists over the insects’ welfare.

PETA wrote to Takahashi in October to inform him that butterflies used for public displays are “typically either ripped from nature or captive bred on farms,” and that many are crushed or die while they are shipped “like cargo” in envelopes and small boxes. The group cited the North American Butterfly Association, saying, “many wedding planners now avoid butterflies at weddings because they (often) arrive dead, or half-dead.”

In his reply, dated Oct. 17, Takahashi said he wanted the butterflies in his show to be safe and healthy. He wrote that his team ordered them from an “ethical” breeder and gave them proper nutrition and ample space to breathe and fly, while keeping them at the correct temperature.

But the designer added that while his label strove to create the “most comfortable environment possible” for the creatures, he knew it was a mistake. “I felt guilty, yet I decided to put butterflies in the dress for my own creation,” he wrote.

Takahashi said he released the insects in a park immediately after the runway show, although PETA‘s letter noted that captive-bred butterflies “struggle to find food sources, and rarely survive” in the wild, and can also “spread disease to local insect populations.”

In his letter, the designer said he first developed an affinity for butterflies at his grandmother’s funeral two decades ago. “I went to a river nearby, and a white butterfly flew by and didn’t leave my side,” he said. “This experience made me feel very happy, thinking that my grandmother was coming closer to me.” Since then, Takahashi added, he has had other similarly evocative experiences with the insects.

New York department store Barneys stopped featuring insects in its displays after facing similar complaints from PETA over its use of live monarch butterflies in 2018.

The animal rights organization also has campaigns targeting what it calls “systemic cruelty” in the leather, mohair, wool, cashmere, down and fur trades.

(SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【陆族箱】lùzúxiāng terrarium a container, often with a glass front, in which small creatures are kept

【空灵的】kōnglíng de ethereal extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world

日本品牌Undercover的创始人高桥盾在连衣裙中使用活蝴蝶，受到动物保护组织PETA的批评，他为此道歉并承诺今后永远不在自己的设计中使用活体动物。高桥盾在致 PETA 的一封信中说：“很遗憾，我困住了天空中自由飞舞的蝴蝶。”

Undercover的“陆族箱”系列连衣裙里有鲜花和活蝴蝶，该品牌9月登陆巴黎时装周2024春夏秀场，展现了空灵之美，但展示的礼服引发了动物保护主义者对昆虫福利的担忧。

PETA组织10月致函高桥，告知他用于展示的蝴蝶“通常是从大自然中捕获的，亦或是农场中人工饲养的”，许多蝴蝶被装入信封和小盒子中“像货物一样”运输，很容易被压碎死去。

该组织援引北美蝴蝶协会说，“许多婚礼策划人现在都避免在婚礼上使用蝴蝶，因为它们运到时（通常）是死的，或者半死不活”。

高桥在10月17日的回信中说，他希望参加T台秀的蝴蝶安全健康。他说，他的团队是从一个“合规”的饲养者那里订购了蝴蝶，并为它们提供了适当的营养和充足的呼吸和飞行空间，同时保持适宜的温度。

但这位设计师补充说，虽然他的品牌努力为这些动物创造“尽可能舒适的环境”，但他知道这是一个错误。他写道：“我感到内疚，为了自己的创作，我还是决定把蝴蝶放进衣服里。”

高桥说，他在时装秀结束后立即在公园里放飞了这些昆虫，不过PETA在信中指出，人工饲养的蝴蝶在野外“很难找到食物来源，极少存活”，而且还可能“向当地昆虫种群传播疾病”。

这位设计师在信中说，他第一次对蝴蝶产生好感是在二十年前祖母的葬礼上。他说：“我来到附近的一条河边，一只白色蝴蝶飞过，跟随我的身边。这让我非常高兴，觉得祖母不曾远离。”高桥说，那次之后他与蝴蝶还有过其他类似令人难忘的经历。

纽约百货公司巴尼斯2018年因使用活体帝王斑蝶遭到PETA的类似投诉后也叫停了橱窗展示。

该动物保护组织还针对皮革、马海毛、羊毛、羊绒、羽绒和皮草行业

“系统性伤害动物的残忍行为”开展抗议活动。(Translated by Debra)