2015 Vegan Fashion Award Winners Shine in PETA’s First-Ever Fall Fashion Lookbook

For Immediate Release:
October 15, 2015

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

PETA’s first-ever Fall Fashion Lookbook features designs from the winners of this year’s Vegan Fashion Awards. From cork handbags to faux-fur stoles to the vegan leather “It” platform of the season, we’ve got autumn covered for any shopper who values eco- and animal-friendly fashion.

PETA’s interactive lookbook stars this year’s Most Influential Designer, Joshua Katcher of Brave GentleMan, and Most Innovative Designer, Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart of VAUTE. All of PETA’s 2015 Vegan Fashion Award winners are moving fashion into the future with sustainable production, high ethical standards, and cutting-edge innovation:

• Brave GentleMan is the first all-vegan, sustainable men’s fashion brick-and-mortar store in New York City. Katcher’s suits use recycled cotton/poly tweed and Turkish future-silk recycled poly lining, and his suede- and leather-like jackets are made from recycled polyester. And as a professor at Parsons The New School for Design and a nationwide lecturer on sustainable vegan fashion, he’s inspiring designers everywhere to follow his lead.
• VAUTE has long been known for its vegan wool-like hats and coats, and this season, it started developing a chunky knitted sweater, too. Its apparel is made of 100 percent recycled plastic bottles, crafted in the U.S., and insulated and lined with the same advanced materials used by Arctic explorers.
• This year’s Most Talented New Designers, Barbara Mattivy and Pamella Magpali of Insecta Shoes, handpick materials from vintage suppliers and thrift stores and give them a new life as 100 percent unique footwear—no two pairs are alike.
• Della, 2015’s Most Socially Conscious Company, is woman-owned and -run and driven by its mission to create goods that give back to those most in need. Its beautiful accessories are handcrafted by members of the Hohoe community in Ghana, where Della provides jobs, education, and skills training.
• Reformation, the winner in this year’s Most Loved Vintage/Repurposed Designs category, manufactures most of its garments in its own sewing factory in downtown Los Angeles and obtains mostly repurposed vintage garments or rescued “deadstock” fabric. The company recently donated 25 percent of proceeds from its No Red Carpet Needed initiative to MUSE School, the first all-vegan school in the U.S., run by actor Suzy Cameron, wife of director James Cameron.

“The future of fashion today is forward-thinking, with fabrics that protect the planet and all the animals who live on it,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA’s Fall Fashion Lookbook shows how easy it is to stay on-trend and wear your cruelty-free, eco-friendly values right on your sleeve.”

Details are available on PETA’s website and a short teaser video featuring fashions from the lookbook can be viewed here or downloaded here.