Gatekeeping and the Use of Contested Practices in Creative Industries: The Case of Fur in Fashion.

This article examines how prominent gatekeepers in creative industries influence producers' adoption or abandonment of contested cultural practices, focusing on the use of animal fur in the global high-end fashion industry. It finds that while social movement activism alone has limited direct impact on producers, gatekeepers—exemplified by Vogue's editorial discourse—translate and legitimize external ethical concerns, thereby shaping producers' responses. Notably, higher-status fashion houses, which traditionally resist change to preserve their privileged positions, are more responsive to shifts in gatekeeper discourse acknowledging societal contestation, leading to a decline in fur use that subsequently diffuses through the industry. The study highlights the complex intermediary role of gatekeepers as boundary-spanners who balance industry norms with external pressures, and it underscores the indirect pathways through which social movements can drive change in culturally autonomous fields.