Madonna wears a coat made from chincillas

Madonna_2 She may be about to turn fashion designer for H&M but Madonna's own fashion sense is attracting heavy criticism after she was spotted leaving a London restaurant last night with husband Guy Ritchie and 40 dead chinchillas - which Madonna just so happened to be wearing at the time.

The £35,000 chinchilla fur coat has been the subject of outrage today as animal activist organisations rush to condemn the singer. PeTA accused her of attention seeking, and I'd imagine Madonna's best friend, Stella McCartney, might just have a thing or two to say about her choice of attire, too...

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Madonna wears a coat made from chincillas - Comments

Betsy

Oh get over it bleeding hearts. Chinchilla is a little rabbit-like critter that is raised in abundence. And very very warm.

Ernestine

To Mimi:

PETA does NOT use American tax dollars, on the contrary, American tax dollars are being used to harm animals, for example, through animal testing. Also, by making any fur fashionable, including vintage, it only makes the demand for fur increase. Therefore, wearing fur supports this evil industry.

Amber

I know nothing about the provenance of Madonna's coat, and whether it's old or new fur, but having read a bit about this over the weekend, the problem for me is that the methods used to farm chincillas for fur seem particularly inhumane. I've been really horrified by some of the things I've read about this, and it makes me sad to see someone like Madonna wearing a coat like this.

Anne-Marie

I'm sure you're all going to hate me, but nothing is warmer than a fur coat or luxurious for that matter. While I don't advocate wearing new fur, I have absolutely no problem with wearing vintage fur just as I have no problem with wearing leather or sporting a bag with pony hair. I think it is downright ridiculous that PETA continues to go on its war path when there are much better issues to be using massive amounts of American tax payers money on. The fact that they also had a fit about wearing vintage just goes to show that they, like the celebrities they take so much time to chastize are willing to accept whatever publicity they can get. If you don't wear vintage fur doesn't it make it worse? Isn't recycling something good for the earth? Why not make vintage fur more fashionable so people who like fur will seek out pristine examples of rare fur, specificially chinchilla for example? And if they want to continue on this vein then why not go after the wool industry or the cashmere industry - is it simply because the animal is not killed that there's such a great difference? As a knitwear designer I could tell you some horrible stories about angora farming that might make some of you opt for acrylic and long for polyester blends. In terms of fashion fur is what humans started with, it should make sense we are still drawn towards it. And lastly, why isn't there more press for societies that protect human beings inside of PETA? Why isn't Pamela Anderson stripping for Amnesty International? I will continue to wear my vintage fur because I love it, and will never consider myself less of an animal lover for that fact.

Mimi

I have three fur hats my grandmother wore back in the sixties, and I do wear them on occasion (though winters aren't quite cold enough where I am now to bother). But I figure those animals died before I was born--I would never in a million years buy or wear new fur. Instead, I have a lovely faux fur coat I got off eBay for $25, and nothing died in the making of it.