A long and cruel history of feathers in fashion

A long history of suffering

From ancient civilizations to the haute couture runways of today, feathers have helped shape the history of clothes.

In ancient Egypt, ostrich feathers were used to make fans for wealthy and important people (one was even found in the tomb of Tutankhamun) while the helmets of Roman soldiers included an impressive crest of ostrich feathers to make them appear more fearsome to their enemies.

During the Middle Ages, feathers came to signify social importance. From the early 15^th to the early 17^th century many new animal-derived products, considered exciting and luxurious, came into Western markets due to an increase in trade and colonialism. In the Renaissance, feathered adornments became integral to European aristocracy; elaborate feathered hats, plumes, and cloaks became fashionable among the rich with peacock feathers particularly coveted for their vibrancy.

Feathers became an essential part of millinery designs during the Victorian era. Hats, often enormous in size, were decorated with pheasant plumes, ostrich feathers, and other wild bird feathers, signalling sophistication and elegance. It even became à la mode to mount whole stuffed birds onto hats. Demand was such that it drove the hunting and slaughter of birds on a grand scale, evidenced by the order of one London dealer for 6,000 birds of paradise feathers, 40,000 hummingbird feathers and 360,000 feathers from other species.

‘Murderous millinery’

Opposition to the cruel exploitation of wild birds for hats, clothes and accessories began to grow and campaigns, largely led by women, emerged against the use of wild bird feathers for fashion and the blight of so-called ‘murderous millinery’. In England, Emily Williamson founded the Society for the Protection of Birds (SPB) in 1889 to oppose the fashion for feathers which was driving birds such as little egrets, great crested grebes, and birds of paradise to the brink of extinction. Their efforts ultimately led to the 1908 Wild Birds Protection Act and the 1921 Importation of Plumage (Prohibition) Act, which prohibited the import of certain classes of feather.

“As regards the first, it is evident that unless the slaughter is stopped several species of birds will be within a few years absolutely exterminated. Once destroyed they could never be replaced, and from a scientific point of view this would be deplorable… It is not only the fact that some species will be utterly annihilated, but that the victims are just the most beautiful; in fact, their beauty is their ruin. Moreover, birds' feathers in hats are, I submit, not ornamental, but, under the circumstances, repulsive” – Lord Avery, House of Lords Debate, 19 May 1908.

The fight continues

Despite the success of the SPB’s campaigns in the early 1900s, birds have continued to suffer for their feathers, fuelled by new trends such as the feather boas and headbands of the 1920s and the feather-trimmed evening wear of the 1950s and 60s. Today, feathers still appear on high street and catwalk designs, although most of the demand for decorative feathers now falls on ostriches which are farmed for their feathers as well as their skins. Fashions may have changed but the cruelty of the feather trade remains. Feathers in fashion have a long and brutal history - and history is exactly where this practice belongs.