TWO Scottish women stripped down to their underwear in Italy’s fashion capital Milan yesterday to protest against the industry’s use of leather.
Yvonne Taylor, 32, from Edinburgh, and actress Julianne McCheyne, 27, from Glasgow, held up a sign that said: "We’d rather bare skin than wear skin."
They staged the demonstration as they walked along Via Montenapoleone, a street known for its up
market fashion boutiques.
Both women have previously taken part in similar campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal rights group.
Ms Taylor said she has stripped in China and India and was arrested and expelled from both countries.
"I didn’t think I would have got arrested in Italy," she said, after 20 policemen showed up to see her disrobe.
The pair had their passports checked but were allowed to continue with the protest.
The demonstration was part of a European campaign that will move to Madrid in Spain on Friday.
Ms Taylor has been involved in several high-profile campaigns for animal rights over the years.
During the 2002 World Cup, she crouched in a cage in South Korea, a protest against cats and dogs being boiled alive for human consumption.
She has worn a lettuce leaf outfit while handing out leaflets about vegetarianism at a butchers’ conference and in America she dressed as a giant rat to heighten awareness of animal testing.
She has also appeared in the style of Lady Godiva to protest about a drug called Premarin, made from the urine of pregnant horses.
Last year, she invaded the catwalks of several shows during Paris fashion week.
Speaking to The Scotsman last year, Ms Taylor said she loved fashion shows but wanted to protest at the price paid by animals to create the outfits.
"Hundreds of thousands of pounds are spent on these events; it’s beautiful," she said.
"I love looking at beautiful clothes, but what I was looking at was the bodies of animals who have suffered the most appalling lives and deaths, being paraded up and down catwalks."
As well as opposing the use of leather, Ms Taylor has campaigned to stop fur returning to the catwalks.
"The fur industry was on its knees and still is, to a certain extent," she said. "Whenever you see someone wearing a fur, they’re either ignorant or arrogant."
