The fur industry is working hard to make consumers believe that the young and fashionable are turned on by fur again. But a May 10 awards party for the U.S. leg of the Second Annual Design against Fur Poster Contest, thrown by The HSUS and the Fur Free Alliance at Manhattan's chic shop Utowa, gleefully debunked that carefully crafted myth.

As an antidote to the fur industry's shameless promotion of fur garments, the Design against Fur event's timing was almost too good to be true: A week earlier, at the 22nd North American Fur and Fashion Exposition in Montreal, the Fur Council of Canada bragged about rap stars P. Diddy and Mr. Biggs' use of coyote and fox fur in their clothing lines, and council Executive Vice President Alan Herscovici gushed that "A new generation of designers has re-interpreted fur." But at the New York awards party, design students, advertising and public relations pros, and assorted celebrities made it clear that the brutality of the fur industry rendered fur fashion worse than outre.

The theme of the evening was that fur—even the trim that the fur industry is striving to make ubiquitous—is too cruel to be stylish.

Oleg Yagolnikov, first-prize winner of the 2004 Design against Fur USA contest, was born in the Soviet Union—Ukraine, to be exact, though his family later moved to Estonia—and came to the United States in 1989. Yagolnikov, who graduated this year from Virginia's James Madison University (JMU), recalls growing up in a fur-wearing environment. "At that point—I was 11 or 12—it didn't bother me because it was part of the culture, it was part of life." But researching his entry for the competition changed his perception. "Now, knowing what's been done to [animals] to get the fur...I can make a direct link: fashion plus fur equals something wrong there."

Yagolnikov drew a cartoon fox for his anti-fur-trim poster. "You want a piece of me?" gasps his alarmed canine. Further down the poster, the sobering facts are given: "3,159,000 foxes are killed every year to become a cute little fur trim." Why did he pick a fox? "Because I like foxes… and foxes seem to be getting a bad rap. I was thinking, 'do foxes a favor'."

Judging by the growing number of entries in this year's Design against Fur contests, Yagolnikov isn't alone. In Herscovici's Canada, the younger generation seems to be deserting him. Canadian entries ballooned from three contestants in 2003 to 230 in Canada's Design against Fur competition in 2004, a number that justified giving Canada its own contest. Even Russia, a nation whose name is practically synonymous with fur hats and coats, has jumped on the bandwagon: New Fur Free Alliance member VITA Russia reports that 130 Russian design students have entered the European and International Design against Fur contest this year.

The poster contests' growing popularity is important, says John Grandy, HSUS senior vice president for Wildlife and Habitat Protection. "It's the younger generation that sets fashion trends, and the Design Against Fur competition helps them become informed, compassionate trend setters."

An appreciation of animals unlucky enough to bear fur was another theme of the evening. Footage of foxes, raccoons, seals, beavers, and rabbits was projected on the walls, and many of the winning posters featured photographs of fur-bearing animals—images that Mutts cartoonist and contest judge Patrick McDonnell could appreciate: "For me, the animals just say it all."

Other party-goers would have agreed wholeheartedly with McDonnell. But some consumers need more guidance. Fellow judge, designer Todd Oldham laments that most fur consumers are still oblivious to the brutality of the fur industry. "You have to respect free choice," he says, "but most of that comes without being an educated choice." Oldham praised the work of the contestants, finding in many of the posters "a really smart edge that allows for the ultimate end goal of this, which is how do you relay this information without having people's eyes shut or their brains shut on you."

Trudy Cole-Zielanski, JMU assistant director of the School of Art and Art History, said that designing the fur-trim posters posed an important challenge to her students. (JMU produced not only this year's winner but also the recipient of last year's first prize, Mark Choi.)

"A lot of them, particularly in the first go-around, were honing in on the blood and guts of it," Cole-Zielanski explains. "But then we talked about if your audience got grossed out, that's not necessarily going to keep them from buying that jacket in the store because they don't see the direct connection. So we talked a lot about how to intellectually approach the solution rather than just going for the superficial, emotional side of it."

Not that the awards party was unemotional. The crowd was almost boisterous by the time Grandy stepped into the spotlight to announce the winners. Each name brought out a whoop of applause: the tied third-place winners ($250 each), Pratt Institute's Cristine Esguerra and JMU's Jessica Cino (who also received the special Todd Oldham Prize); second place winner, Pratt Institute's Sheetal Vig ($500); and finally Yagolnikov ($1,000). All four winners have been entered into competition for the international grand prize, which will be awarded in Paris during Fashion Week in October.

Then it was time to thank Utowa for donating the party space, caterer Counter Vegetarian Restaurant, and drinks sponsor Holland's Effen Vodka. There were cheers for the judges, who included McDonnell, Oldham, Montel Williams, National Geographic journalist Lisa Ling, fashion commentator Melissa Rivers; actresses Vanessa Lengies and Eva La Rue; wrestler Bill Goldberg; ecostylist Danny Seo; and DJ team Andrew Andrew.

With warm thanks to contest entrants and enthusiastic supporters for attending the awards celebration, Grandy exhorted the crowd to continue the fight against fur. He concluded on a triumphant note, promising that this would not be the last Design against Fur competition: "We shall return!"

Tanya Mulford is web editor for The HSUS Wildlife and Habitat Protection section.