We created the first pineapple leather shoes to ever walk the Oscars red carpet
What a successful season for Vegan Fashion on the red carpet!
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
After months of preparation and hard work behind the scenes, I am so proud of Vegan Fashion Week’s series of accomplishments for vegan fashion leading up to the 2023 Academy Awards, The Oscars. All thanks to the collective action of a growing community of committed friends and activists.
✔ Product Development: We worked closely with shoe designer Willa Phoenix to develop the first pineapple leather shoes to ever walk the Oscars red carpet! For those who don’t know, in addition to our annual fashion week, I launched Vegan Fashion Library in 2020, a permanent showroom accelerator supporting international emerging designers in their transition to better practices by advising, connecting them to vetted suppliers, innovating by replacing animal and fossil fuel-based textiles in the supply chain, and fostering premium relationships with fashion stylists, media, celebrities and industry leaders. Vegan Fashion Library exists to infuse systemic change in the fashion industry.
✔ Contribution to the Red Carpet Green Dress Style Guide “Greening the Red Carpet”: CEO and inspiring cultural sustainability pioneer, Samata Pattinson invited me to share my voice to this year’s style guide, an interactive resource to help people make educated decisions about their fashion on and off the red carpet. It is sought to provide an easily accessible and insightful guide to fashion sustainability to show how anyone can participate in caring for our planet through their fashion choices. It was used to style this year's RCGD Global ambassadors for the Oscars red carpet.
“Vegan fashion is the idea of producing and consuming fashion without harming or using animals. This means avoiding materials such as fur, leather, wool, feathers and silk. Many of these materials have ethical, sustainable, and non-animal alternatives such as plant-based leathers made of cactus, apple, mushroom, pineapple, grapes and even tea waste! Citrus fiber silk is made from the cellulose of by-products of the citrus industry. We can find organic down alternatives such as a natural fiber that comes from the kapok seed pod. In addition to replacing animal-based textiles, many designers made the connection with the importance of avoiding fossil fuel-based materials which are also detrimental to the environment.
The mission of Vegan Fashion Week is to bridge the gap between sustainability and ethics. Sadly, animals are still left out of the conversation when it comes to sustainability or the climate emergency. Raising animals for fashion requires massive amounts of land, food, energy, and water and is causing severe environmental damage. Livestock on factory farms currently play an enormous role in the climate change and sanitary crisis we are currently experiencing. The philosophy around Vegan Fashion Week is to change the narrative around the word vegan as a synonym for “compassion” by healing our fractured relationships with all beings: humans, non-humans and the planet.”
✔ Night of Ideas by Villa Albertine: I was invited by The French Consulate to give a keynote speech at University of Southern California. I joined my voice to debates and presentations tackling the theme of #sustainability from economic, social, and ecological standpoints, while also questioning the viability of our own behaviors and lifestyles. I presented Vegan Fashion Week’s mission, global impact and my theory of change highlighting the negative #social and environmental impact of the #leather industry and the (almost always) lack of inclusion of the animal exploitation issue in the climate and sustainability conversations.
✔ Vanity Fair and TikTok Celebrated Vanities: A Night for Young Hollywood. The private event, co-hosted by a committee of rising stars. TikTok star Brianna LaPaglia attended the event with Josh Richards wearing a vegan clutch by Willa Phoenix via Vegan Fashion Library.
✔ Green Carpet Fashion Awards in Los Angeles: Actress Rachel Stubington was our vegan fashion ambassador at the newly relocated event hosted by Livia Firth. She visited our showroom to be dressed in a full vegan outfit featuring our beloved designers, Vegan Tiger, Willa Phoenix and Sylven New York.
✔ Red Carpet Green Dress pre-Oscars annual celebration by RCGD Global: Celebrity stylist Tara Swennen, whom we celebrated with the Vegan Fashion Week’s “best vegan stylist” award in 2019, graced us with a sustainable outfit at the pre-Oscar event. She wore a vintage Camilla and Marc jumpsuit, a vegan Strathberry clutch and our the yet to be released “Hollywood” gold stiletto developped in collaboration with Willa Phoenix in our showroom and sustainability accelerator. I attended the dinner with Ray Calleros wearing an outfit in honor of the late Vivienne Westwood, a true inspiration and role model.
✔ Vanity Fair Oscars Party hosted by Radhika Jones: Actress Megalyn Echikunwoke attended the Vanity Fair event with Olivia Wilde, adorned with our now infamous yet to be released “Hollywood” gold shoes made of Piñatex and designed in Italy by ethical and sustainable shoe designer Willa Phoenix via Vegan Fashion Library.
✔ The 95th Academy Awards: Samata Pattinson shines by wearing the first pineapple leather shoes to ever walk the Oscars red carpet, a unique collaboration developed via Vegan Fashion Library.
With gratitude,
— Emmanuelle Rienda, Founder & President
