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Los Angeles recently welcomed the Vegan Fashion Library, the world’s first showroom and boutique dedicated to supporting ethical vegan designers. Developed by the Vegan Fashion Week as a solution to the social distancing restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, the multi-brand showroom will curate vegan, cruelty-free and sustainable clothing and accessories, featuring some of the innovative materials to date, from plant-based wool to cactus leather.
Making a pandemic pivot, the Vegan Fashion Week, a platform promoting ethical fashion and conscious consumption, has launched a physical showroom in Los Angeles accompanied by an online e-commerce boutique. Called the Vegan Fashion Library, the 2,000 square-foot space will serve as a premium shopping destination for conscious retailers, stylists and celebrities who are looking for designer vegan clothing.
Among the unique pieces curated in the store include clothing made from vegan silk and plant-based wool, and accessories made from biodegradable and cruelty-free apple, cactus or pineapple leather.
We are leading positive change through conscious creativity. Let’s take this opportunity to think about the cause of the pandemic, see beyond social distancing to create new awareness and change behaviour.
Emmanuelle Rienda, Founder of Vegan Fashion Week
In keeping with coronavirus safety procedures, the in-person showroom will only allow one guest appointment at a time, and visitors will be given disposable gloves and must wear a face mask when entering. Virtual showings are also on offer via FaceTime or Zoom, as well as curbside pick-ups and returns.
The aim of the concept is to inspire shoppers while supporting ethical designers amid the coronavirus pandemic, to raise awareness about the current environmental crisis that fashion is fuelling, and the innovative ways in which new cruelty-free, vegan and sustainable designs can help promote a transformation within the fashion industry.
“We are leading positive change through conscious creativity. Let’s take this opportunity to think about the cause of the pandemic, see beyond social distancing to create new awareness and change behaviour,” said Emmanuelle Rienda, founder of Vegan Fashion Week. “We need to rethink the way we consume, what we consume, and how to sync sustainability with ethics.”
It’s about pushing ourselves and promoting compassion for animals and the planet so that we can come up with creative responses to what’s going on, which is pandemics due to animal exploitation.
Emmanuelle Rienda, Founder of Vegan Fashion Week
The Vegan Fashion Library will also have an e-commerce arm, where shoppers can browse through the online boutique to search for vegan pieces from designers like Bohema, Enda and Julien Esteves Berthier. Customers are able to filter products by category, from ethical alternatives to animal-based materials, to the sustainability of production processes.
“The fashion industry is suffering, and plant-based designers even more because they have chosen to be independent and work with little-known materials,” explained Rienda in conversation with WWD.
“I create this concept to support them. A lot of brands don’t pay, so I’m personally investing in this area. But for now, it’s about pushing ourselves and promoting compassion for animals and the planet so that we can come up with creative responses to what’s going on, which is pandemics due to animal exploitation.”
All images courtesy of Vegan Fashion Week / Vegan Fashion Library.
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