California Apparel News

The second edition of Emmanuelle Rienda’s Vegan Fashion Week took place in downtown Los Angeles under the theme “Fashion Is Activism,” which not only focused on cruelty-free fashion but also examined the apparel industry’s impact on the planet’s ecological systems. Held Oct. 10–15, Vegan Fashion Week coincided with Los Angeles’ mainstream fashion-week productions and L.A. Market Week, affording access to an expanded audience. It was also during this time that the office of California Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Oct. 12 that he had signed into law AB 44, which banned the sale of new fur—a first for any state in the United States.

“Being vegan is not about the clothes you wear or the food you eat. It’s a real lifestyle and understanding of values to create a cruelty-free world,” explained Rienda as she addressed the audience on Oct. 10. “We can evolve as a society and try to be compassionate to all species. This is something that is very real.”

An opening-night celebration was hosted at the Theatre at Ace Hotel on Oct. 10, which included performances by artists such as Kate Nash and an awards ceremony for the most influential vegan creative leaders. Receiving the award for best vegan designer was Nicole Blue, while Constantin Le Fou, the Vegan Club founder, won for best artist.

Los Angeles–based designer Chloe Trujillo co-hosted the opening event and noted the evolution toward sustainable manufacturing methods.

“Even larger commercial brands are recognizing the importance of this path, especially when it comes to trade programs, manufacturing methods and conditions,” she said. “As public support for these initiatives continues to grow, we’ll continue to see more leaders step up globally and make bold decisions to make sustainability the norm, not just the aspiration.”

The event continued at the California Market Center Oct. 14–15 under a traditional trade-show model as Vegan World, a destination in which vegan apparel-and-lifestyle brands exhibited their goods. On the night of Oct. 14, Rienda hosted a fashion show with many designs relying on upcycled and recycled materials.

At the booth for the Los Angeles apparel brand Blue District, founder Cici Voise was excited to introduce attendees to her brand. Using nontoxic dyes, recycled polyester and nylon, as well as more-natural options including cotton, Modal, viscose, ramie, and Tencel, Voise noted that she approaches manufacturing with green intentions but she is always searching to progress further into sustainable apparel.

“My footwear is polyurethane, but hopefully for next spring I am going to do cactus leather,” she said. “The supplier says it’s as durable as any other faux leather, but it’s also green. Footwear is difficult because you need it to be strong, waterproof, and I want to prove that you can have high-quality footwear.”

As a Vegan World attendee, Coalition Apparel Inc. Public Relations Manager Nicole Lau appreciated the various panels that were featured. She found time to explore these options despite planning for the Los Angeles–based cruelty-free brand’s own celebration with an event on Oct. 16. The focus on sourcing vegan materials was particularly helpful, according to Lau, yet she noted that sustainability doesn’t rely solely on creating new products with green materials.

“Sustainability is an overarching point. It’s about recycling clothes,” she said. “Sustainability is also about the ability to be able to recycle materials. In the fashion show, there was a piece made out of a mattress. They repurposed the entire product into a wearable style.”