Veganism is a lifestyle choice, not a diet; we do not eat animals and we do not wear them either. There was a time when vegan fashion choices were limited and finding a pair of nice shoes or a great watch was an impossible task. However, with companies such as Votch and Wills Vegan Shoes, both of which we featured in our October issue, bringing vegan products into the 21st century, vegans are proving that cruelty-free fashion is stylish, chic and as accessible as traditional fashion — but with one big difference. Vegan fashion does not hurt any other beings. Many of the fabrics which still adorn models taking to the catwalk are horribly cruel and we will be briefly looking at alternatives to wool, leather and silk.
Leather is perhaps the best known animal product used in fashion and the market for leather alternatives reflects this. There is pineapple leather, grape leather, leaf leather and even a leather alternative made from rubbish from the oceans. Bags, belts, watches and jackets which have the leather look without killing animals are now commonplace and you will be surprised that many products, that you can pick up on the high street, and look like leather, are in fact made from plastic or a leather alternative.