California Apparel News

Vegan Fashion Week returned to Los Angeles Oct. 10–12 on a mission to promote sustainability and peace through a partnership with Ukrainian Fashion Week, which has been seeking much-needed support from the industry. The event included Ukrainian creatives who have been displaced as refugees due to the Russian invasion of their country—forced to leave behind their homes, loved ones and way of life.

“This edition of Vegan Fashion Week proved that veganism is not only about the animals,” explained Emmanuelle Rienda, VFW founder and creative director. “This edition shows that the theme is really compassion and trying to elevate the message to caring about the animals, humans and the environment.”

In addition to a marketplace and seminars, VFW featured a sunset runway presentation set amid the backdrop of the renovated California Market Center atrium. The Oct. 10 event was produced through an approach that reduced energy consumption.

“The idea was to play with the natural light, and that is why we did a Golden Hour sustainable fashion show,” Rienda said. “The idea was to remove all the additional lights that are used in fashion shows to reduce our impact. We really wanted to play with the light in the atrium and create imagery that is aligned with the message about nature, sustainaibilty and natural light.”

Ukrainian designers featured during the show included Chereshnivska, Dzhus, House Martin, Gorohova, Ochis, Oversized, Roussin, Sheezen, Palingenisy, Devohome and Reviclo. Not all brands featured during the show were vegan, but all were cruelty-free and sustainable.

Rienda received an unexpected yet pleasant surprise when Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti awarded a certificate of recognition to the organization. The certificate highlighted VFW’s efforts to spread compassion, environmental awareness and commitment to Ukrainian Fashion Week.

“Being recognized by such an important office, it’s a big win for the movement,” said Rienda. “This confirms that Los Angeles is an ethical destination and political platform for animals and sustainability. This is a confirmation that we are in the right place.”