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 相關詞匯 【陸族箱】lùzúxiāng terrarium a container, often with a glass front, in which small creatures are kept 【空靈的】kōnglíng de ethereal extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world 日本品牌Undercover的創始人高橋盾在連衣裙中使用活蝴蝶，受到動物保護組織PETA的批評，他為此道歉并承諾今后永遠不在自己的設計中使用活體動物。高橋盾在致 PETA 的一封信中說：“很遺憾，我困住了天空中自由飛舞的蝴蝶。” Undercover的“陸族箱”系列連衣裙里有鮮花和活蝴蝶，該品牌9月登陸巴黎時裝周2024春夏秀場，展現了空靈之美，但展示的禮服引發了動物保護主義者對昆蟲福利的擔憂。 PETA組織10月致函高橋，告知他用于展示的蝴蝶“通常是從大自然中捕獲的，亦或是農場中人工飼養的”，許多蝴蝶被裝入信封和小盒子中“像貨物一樣”運輸，很容易被壓碎死去。 該組織援引北美蝴蝶協會說，“許多婚禮策劃人現在都避免在婚禮上使用蝴蝶，因為它們運到時（通常）是死的，或者半死不活”。 高橋在10月17日的回信中說，他希望參加T臺秀的蝴蝶安全健康。他說，他的團隊是從一個“合規”的飼養者那里訂購了蝴蝶，并為它們提供了適當的營養和充足的呼吸和飛行空間，同時保持適宜的溫度。 但這位設計師補充說，雖然他的品牌努力為這些動物創造“盡可能舒適的環境”，但他知道這是一個錯誤。他寫道：“我感到內疚，為了自己的創作，我還是決定把蝴蝶放進衣服里。” 高橋說，他在時裝秀結束后立即在公園里放飛了這些昆蟲，不過PETA在信中指出，人工飼養的蝴蝶在野外“很難找到食物來源，極少存活”，而且還可能“向當地昆蟲種群傳播疾病”。 這位設計師在信中說，他第一次對蝴蝶產生好感是在二十年前祖母的葬禮上。他說：“我來到附近的一條河邊，一只白色蝴蝶飛過，跟隨我的身邊。這讓我非常高興，覺得祖母不曾遠離。”高橋說，那次之后他與蝴蝶還有過其他類似令人難忘的經歷。 紐約百貨公司巴尼斯2018年因使用活體帝王斑蝶遭到PETA的類似投訴后也叫停了櫥窗展示。 該動物保護組織還針對皮革、馬海毛、羊毛、羊絨、羽絨和皮草行業 “系統性傷害動物的殘忍行為”開展抗議活動。(Translated by Debra) | 