By Lily Corcoran
We hand over the mic to Annick Ireland, founder of Immaculate Vegan a marketplace featuring sustainable and vegan fashion brands, as she takes over KeiSei to talk to 4 female trailblazers making their mark on the vegan fashion scene. Come with us as we hear from the founders of 4 different vegan fashion brands, and learn what kickstarted their journey towards sustainability.
Each interview has precious nuggets of wisdom, honesty, and courage. Most of all, we get to find out which women helped to influence these inspiring women along the way!
Helen Farr-Leander, Founder of Watson & Wolfe
Helen, you spent 10 years working with luxury leather goods at Aspinal of London – why did you make the switch to vegan fashion and what drove you to launch your brand?
I had been out of the industry for a couple of years before deciding to start my own business. At that point I wasn’t vegan and had planned to work with leather. It was during the research phase when I was putting together the marketing plan that I realised that something didn’t feel quite right. I began to research the leather industry and then my eyes were opened to the unsustainability of it, the pollution, and the cruelty. Over the next three months I began eating a plant-based diet and opted for a vegan lifestyle. This meant also changing my business plan.
Watson & Wolfe is one of our best-selling brands at Immaculate – what do you think the secret of your success is?
Our collection is very classic, which makes it perfect for gifting. We wanted to create accessories which would be an easy swap for men who wanted to move away from leather to something less harmful. We really look at everything to see how we can have less, but also less waste in the supply chain. For example, we only offer blind embossed initials rather than gold or silver foil. Metallic foils are sold on single use plastic rolls and along with that waste, so much of the gold and silver foil ends up in the bin too.
You’ve experimented with different vegan leathers, tell us a bit about that journey, what you use now and why?
There are a lot available and many more in the process of moving from the conceptual phase to small production volumes. I have a cupboard full of material samples made from banana leaf, pineapple leaves, coconut water, apple waste and more. If I hear about something new, I must see it, I find the whole industry and the direction it is going in really exciting. So far, for our items we predominantly use a corn-based material. It is the right thickness, has the right hand and it has a long-lasting finish. We also use a premium microfiber, cactus leather and cork. There are many options for bags now, but for men’s accessories the choice is not very big. I feel that more effort is being made to develop materials that can be used to make bags for women, than materials which are also good or small accessories such as wallets and card holders for men.
What motivates and drives you in doing what you do?
Animals and the planet. The number of animals which are exploited and used for the fashion industry each year is staggering. We have already come a very long way in the fight against Fur, and the same must be done for exotic animal skin and leather. You only need to watch a very short clip of how these animals are farmed and processed to know that what we are doing it wrong. We are also systematically destroying our planet with the processes and toxic chemicals used to make leather.
I want to disrupt the industry and prove that next-generation materials are essential to our future.
And lastly – what’s your favourite item from your collection?
My favourite item of the moment is the Wilton Purse.
Jessica Kruger, Founder of LUXTRA
Jessica, you’re a true pioneer in vegan fashion, and your collection easily rivals that of the best luxury bag brands. Tell us a bit about your background, how you got started in fashion, and why you launched LUXTRA?
Oh that’s so kind! Thank you so much. Home is Sydney, Australia but I’ve been in Europe for the past 12 years. Nature looms large down under – fire, drought, water shortages, deadly animals… you respect Mother Nature. I moved to Europe and moved around a lot for a few years before coming to London in 2013 to start ETHOS–- a plant-based restaurant in central London. I wanted to show the world that meat-free could be delicious and chic. The time then came for me to move on and my next big idea to save the planet was to make fashion more ethical and eco-friendly!
You’re a real innovator in using the latest plant-based leathers at LUXTRA – can you tell us about the different materials you use, and why you’ve chosen them?
Yes, they’re pretty cool, aren’t they? Right now we’re using materials made from apple, pineapple, cactus & corn. There are two general criteria for selecting the materials LUXTRA uses: firstly, they must look and feel beautiful & be hard wearing; and secondly, they must have some eco-aspect. The pineapple leather (“Piñatex”) for example takes pineapple leaves that would normally be burnt and upcycles it into a strong but beautiful fabric. The apple leather (“AppleSkin”) similarly diverts waste apple pulp from the fruit juice industry and uses it to reduce the amount of virgin materials required to manufacture the material.
I do always tell people that there is a caveat however: the materials are not perfect – plastic is still present in many of them – but they are a big improvement compared to what the industry is currently using.
You’re also a B Corp, which is a difficult thing to achieve! What did you have to do to get certified, and why was it important to you?
Oh my goodness – tell me about it! They ask for so much – and that’s precisely why I was set on obtaining the certification. You have to achieve a score of 80 out of 200, which sounds like a cinch, but actually most companies will only score 30 or 40. One question I recall was about the amount donated to charity. Just giving to charity isn’t enough though: they want to understand how that money impacts real people and the planet. You have to prove that. It’s really in-depth.
And to answer your question about why it was important to become a B Corp? The answer is that greenwashing is a practice that makes me very angry. I wanted people to know that Luxtra walks the talk in terms of our eco-credentials and B Corp status is the most rigorous way I know of “proving” it.
We only have one life, and I really want mine to make a difference and not to waste it on something I really don’t care about.
What motivates and drives you in doing what you do?
As I mentioned earlier, it’s really a lot to do with my upbringing. Taking care of the planet is in my blood. We only have one life, and I really want mine to make a difference and not to waste it on something I really don’t care about. I’m also a really sensitive person – if I see suffering, I want to do something about it. I can’t turn a blind eye. So with my restaurant, Ethos, it was about encouraging people to eat less meat (but never preaching) and with Luxtra it’s about showing the world that you don’t have to use leather or produce in sweatshops.
Which women have inspired you the most in your life?
Probably the world’s feminists. It’s more the stories of women who have stepped “out of line” to stand up for themselves and women more generally. However a few specific women spring to mind: Caroline Criado Perez and Rosa Parks.
Caroline wrote the fantastic book, Invisible Women. I consider myself a staunch and pretty up-to-date feminist but I learned so much from Caroline’s book. Like how rarely women participate in medical trials, crash test dummies are almost always the average male and just how prevalent the “male default” is in society and the issues that causes. Rosa is of course the wonderful woman who refused to yield her bus seat to a white person in 1960s Alabama – a watershed moment in the American Civil Rights Movement.
What’s your favourite item from your collection?
My single favourite item from the current collection is this Zaha bag in Ballet Pink.
Kate Barrett, Founder of Allkind
Kate, vegan footwear that’s also really stylish and high quality is notoriously hard to find – until now! Tell us a bit about your background and your journey to launching Allkind.
Thank you. My journey to starting Allkind came naturally after following a vegan diet and lifestyle for many years and being continually disappointed by the offering from the vegan footwear sector. I particularly found it hard to find shoes which matched up to the well-established and luxury brands I had previously purchased. I am very passionate about the ethos of Allkind, in respects to animal compassion and actively contributing to creating solutions to reduce our consumer impact on the planet. My background in business management together with my love of fashion and vegan lifestyle were the driving forces behind establishing Allkind, which I am very proud of.I truly believe you should not have to compromise when trying to choose a more conscious, ethical and sustainable approach to your lifestyle.
You launched during the pandemic! What was that like, and what obstacles have you had to overcome?
Well yes that was certainly an interesting situation to find ourselves in and definitely one that was not foreseen. Our launch collection was delayed by two months and left Spain just as lockdown commenced. Luckily the shoes did make it through the border and to our warehouse, so we went ahead with our launch as planned. As you can imagine we had to modify our business plan and change our original goals as did so many businesses. It was hard to strike a balance between what was going on in the world and launching Allkind but it was also a great distraction. A lot of our consumers were at home and spending more time online so we played to our strengths and used the time to promote our launch collection, although sales were ultimately slower at the start. Excitingly the brand has really grown since then and we’ve had lots of exciting opportunities open to us. Overall to look at something positive that came from the situation I do believe it gave a lot of people time out to consider what was going on and why this had happened and to perhaps look at their consumer habits and make changes for the better.
Thanks to brands like Allkind, and many others we have at Immaculate, the perception of vegan fashion is changing. What more do you think needs to be done, and what are your plans for Allkind?
Allkind will always use sustainable and ethical choices to produce our shoes from production to the consumer. We will never be a seasonal fashion brand and will never be trend-led or participate in fast fashion as this type of consumerism is so unsustainable for future generations. We are seeing the impact of this daily and now is the time to act. I feel very positive that larger fashion brands are too starting to make these changes, whether that is ditching fur or caring more about their production lines, workers and carbon footprint. Awareness of all these important factors are heightening which is fantastic for us all. I hope that what Allkind can continue to do is lead by example that vegan fashion doesn’t have to be a compromise in any way and that there are many fantastic alternatives out there if you look for them.
What motivates and drives you in doing what you do?
I absolutely love what I do and I think if you can say that you are very lucky. I am extremely passionate about the changes we need to implement and the conscious decisions that are ours to make every day. I enjoy being able to be part of the change, however small that part might be. Being able to make that change and work towards a bigger goal motivates me, as does working with a great team including my fabulous team at Allkind and our incredibly skilled factory partners who are keen to be a part of who we are and what we are doing and whose expert opinions help us produce our high-quality, handmade vegan shoes.
It’s the small, kind gestures that inspire me the most: thoughtful women who can make me smile on a day when my glass might be only half full.
Which women have inspired you the most in your life?
I have many friends who inspire me, all who have chosen different paths. I am truly inspired by the women who are true to themselves. Those who are happy and content with the decisions they have made and watching those who are not have the strength to change those actions whether by themselves or by asking for support. Success certainly does not equal happiness. Some of the happiest women I know have decided to stay at home and bring up their young families whilst others thrive through their work and career achievements.
And lastly – what’s your favourite item from your collection?
I love our Jessica camel loafers – fabulous everyday shoes.
Karen Wood, Founder of Neu Nomads
Karen, with Neu Nomads you’ve really created a brand for our time, with your stylish, seasonless collections for every day sustainable living. Tell us how you got to where you are now – why did you start the brand, and how did you develop your aesthetic and identity?
I began my journey in the fashion industry over 20 years ago working for the family that introduced Nike to Texas. It was an amazing concept that carried a mix of men’s and women’s apparel, technical gear and footwear – they were true pioneers in retail. It was during the early morning staff meetings that I was introduced to technical brands like North Face and Patagonia. From the moment I learned about the technology behind the fabrics – Coolmax, GORE-TEX and fleece knits (made from recycled coke bottles!), I was hooked. The owners were always flying off to markets in New York and Vegas – I didn’t know what that meant, but was dying to be a part of it. Looking back on my career, I still attribute my love of entrepreneurship, retail and fashion to working for this family.
I was accepted to business school at UT Austin and majored in finance and upon graduation, went to work on wall street. After several years in investment banking I was aching to get back to my roots of working in retail and fashion. I’ve spent the last 15 years working in sales, operations, business development and marketing with various brands (including many notable CFDA designers). I was exposed to every part of the business from PR to operations and that time has proved invaluable as I lean on those experiences while building Neu Nomads.
As anyone experienced in fashion or retail will tell you, it’s not an easy industry. I’ve felt the pains of recessions and the migration of consumers from brick and mortar to e-commerce. Navigating markdown dollars, gross margin agreements, expensive trade shows and the seemingly endless cycles of the seasons and the wrong partnerships can break young businesses. Through all of the ups and downs I still love how dynamic the industry is and that no two days are ever the same. What I didn’t love, and what has weighed on me for many years is how much waste there is during the manufacturing process; the toxic chemicals, plastic packaging that ends up in landfills and overproduction. And most of the time the consumer is totally unaware of the impact. Low price points are typically the result of many layers of middlemen or low wages in third world countries, so we wanted to rethink this common practice.
About 4 years ago I reconnected with a former colleague who has 25 years of production experience working with some of the biggest names in the industry including Theory, Calvin Klein and Michael Kors. She had recently moved from New York to India to work with factories that produce for European luxury brands and many contemporary designers. I had become passionate about sustainable fabrics during my time with Maiyet and knew that India was producing some of the best in the world (it’s the original silk road!). We decided I should make the trip to India and brainstorm on ideas to work together. We found synchronicity during this journey working together and decided that we should try a few projects together.
So Neu Nomads actually started as a consultancy – we matched designers with factories and sourced fabrics for luxury brands. During Christmas that year we were in Munich together (Angela is German and so is my husband) and over many glasses of wine we made the decision that instead of spending all our time consulting for other brands we had the expertise and knowledge to launch our own brand. Just like that, it was decided. From that point it took us about a year to develop our fabrics, define our brand code, build a website and find the right manufacturing partners. We launched neunomads.com just over two years ago with a capsule collection of 12 styles and 5 colourways and have been growing organically through partnerships, wholesale and word of mouth, we are now in over 100 stores across Europe and the US.
You’ve worked hard to ensure all aspects of your supply chain are as ethical and sustainable as possible, from your workers and factories, to your materials and your packaging. Can you tell us a bit more about how you do that, and what that journey has been like?
I’m fortunate to have an amazing business partner who has decades of experience in operations, sourcing and supply chain. When we set out to brainstorm on the brand we really examined each step and each process in the supply chain. We were both committed to finding better ways – from the raw materials to the packaging. It takes our most precious resource – time – to find the right partners. We carefully investigate, interview and visit all our partners in person to ensure that they comply with our values. We regularly visit all our factories and work directly with the owners so we know exactly what is happening at all times. Because of our years of experience in the industry we don’t work with middle-men and go straight to the source which has the benefit of keeping costs down and full traceability.
What do you think the future is going to be for sustainable fashion – are you optimistic?
I’m super optimistic, but we have a long way to go! Every day it seems people are paying more attention and waking up to the fact that we need to make better choices when it comes to how we consume. The more we talk about it and the more the consumer is educated and demands it, the more suppliers will listen. I’m super excited about all the innovation that’s happening with textiles like recycled fabrics, vegan leathers and waterless dyeing techniques.
When we show the world that a company can align profit with doing good, everyone wins.
What motivates and drives you in doing what you do?
In conceptualising Neu Nomads it was important to me to try and answer the question: How do we live life AND share the planet with other people? I believe as individuals and as a business we have the ability and mandate to do better. We hope to achieve this by creating beautiful essentials that are easy on the environment.
From a practical standpoint I really wanted to work for myself and build a company on my own terms. Every dollar that we earn is so rewarding because we are self-funded and growing the business all on our own without outside investors. Maybe we have something to prove! It’s not just about being sustainable from a supply chain perspective but also being financially sustainable.
Which women have inspired you the most in your life?
Certainly my own mother – she worked full time and raised two kids as a single parent and to this day I don’t know how she did it! When I look around at the community of female entrepreneurs in the world right now it’s truly inspiring – women are running tech companies, beauty brands, banks, and starting businesses every day! Shortly after we launched the brand we created a web series called Neu Women that highlights female entrepreneurs and influential creatives in the Neu Nomads community who are working towards a healthier, more sustainable world.
Side note, I’m also obsessed with Mel Robbins, the motivational speaker and best-selling author – I listen to her audiobooks and podcasts for inspiration and to get back on track when I’m feeling like things have gone sideways.
What’s your favourite item from your collection?
Our Maxi V-Neck Dress in Midnight.
Speaking with these inspirational women has certainly left me feeling hopeful about the future of sustainable fashion! Their determinism to act to protect the planet (as well as to make themselves and other women proud) really is something special. They have shone some light on all the weird and wonderful options out there for creating sustainable pieces inspired by their veganism, as well as describing the importance of being transparent in a world that likes to hide the unflattering bits!
Thanks to Helen and Jessica for showing us how they made the switch from conventional to ethical leather, and to Kate for showing how she turned the pandemic into a positive time when she could focus on a launch she was passionate about. And, of course, thanks to Karen for proving you can make your dreams come true with the right amount of commitment and drive!
How have these ladies inspired you with the tales of their journeys?
Annick Ireland
Annick Ireland is the CEO & Founder of Immaculate Vegan, a lifestyle platform and curated shop for living beautifully and ethically. Launched in 2019, Immaculate Vegan carries products from over 120 ethical & sustainable brands across fashion, beauty & home, and ships internationally.
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