Anger as Seoul allows fur in Fendi fashion show

South Korea's capital city will allow Italian fashion house Fendi to feature fur in a show next week, organisers said in a U-turn Monday, prompting a vow from campaigners to disrupt the event.

A spokeswoman for Fendi's public relations company told AFP that fur would be part of the show on June 2 but could not say how many such items would be featured.

The event will be staged on a newly built island on the Han River, which the city of Seoul wants to promote as a landmark.

The Italian firm said last week that city officials had threatened to cancel the event unless all fur items were removed from the catwalk.

The city government said pressure from animal rights groups had rendered the show too controversial, and Fendi had described the short notice as "difficult to understand... in light of the months of preparation and cooperation".

But in a statement Monday, the fashion house said that now "all terms have been mutually agreed" for the show.

The Rome-based company originally planned to present 40 pieces from its autumn/winter collection including 20 fur items.

A Seoul city official said Fendi pledged to "redesign" the lineup to reduce the number of fur items displayed by its models.

"They promised to make the show more acceptable to the public... and we have our international credibility to consider. So we accepted the offer," said the official, who declined to be named.

"The show will go on as planned."

The South Korean group Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth vowed to launch a campaign to boycott Fendi products after the city's change of heart, and called for protesters to picket the June 2 show.

"Let's go together to let many people know about the brutal nature of Fendi, which has cruelly sacrificed fur animals for nearly 100 years," it said.