Brooklyn Designers 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—including Brooklyn’s own Joshua Katcher of Brave GentleMan and Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart of VAUTE. 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.

Katcher and Hilgart are this year’s Most Influential Designer and Most Innovative Designer, respectively. 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—and Katcher and Hilgart are no exception.

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. As a professor at Parsons The New School for Design, the creative force behind men’s vegan lifestyle website The Discerning Brute, 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 vegan wool-like 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. Indistinguishable from sheep’s wool, the chunky vegan knit has never been attempted by any other designer.

“The future of fashion today is forward-thinking, with fabrics that protect the planet and all of the animals who live on it, and that’s exactly what Brave GentleMan and VAUTE are doing,” 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.”

This year’s other winners include Barbara Mattivy and Pamella Magpali of Insecta Shoes (Most Talented New Designers), Della (Most Socially Conscious Company), and Reformation (Most Loved Vintage/Repurposed Designs). Details are available on PETA’s website and a short teaser video featuring fashions from the lookbook can be viewed here or downloaded here.