If your fashion spidey-senses are tuned in, you’ve probably noticed a dramatic increase lately in products claiming their vegan-friendly credentials. And you’d be right. From natural-origin vegan fragrances to vegan leather accessories, beauty lines and more, designer brands are taking the origins of their materials seriously.
Top designers are investing in innovative materials that are more eco-friendly than animal-based materials and many of the latest are plant based. Think skincare and fragrances from natural plant origins, fashion that uses non-silkworm silks and accessories made from cactus-based leather and lotus fibre. And everyone’s talking about Stella McCartney’s mock-croc vegan trench coat made from apple leather on the runway at Paris Fashion Week 2024, proving that luxury doesn’t have to cost the earth.
Here are four vegan-friendly designer brands to put on your radar.
1. JW PEI
A favourite of celebrities such as Gigi Hadid, Selena Gomez, Doja Cat and Hailey Bieber, JW PEI is a loud-and-proud vegan brand hailing from Los Angeles.
Their red-carpet ready fashion and accessories feature eye-catching designs made with faux fur, recycled materials and innovative animal-free textiles, served up with rockstar attitude. Available online in Australia.
2. Chloé Lumineuse
Leading the pack long before vegan ingredients were on the fashion and beauty industries’ radars, French luxury brand Chloé was designing fashion and accessories with vegan fabrics and producing its signature line of vegan fragrances.
The new Chloé Lumineuse is the latest to join the line, with a vibrant feminine floral built around Chloé’s signature rose scent and woven with rich vanilla Sambac. Lumineuse is a vegan perfume formulated with natural origin fragrance, denatured alcohol and water—nothing else.
Sustainable packaging has also been taken into consideration, with the signature Chloé ribbon that finishes every bottle created from 100 per cent recycled polyester, and the Eau de Parfum Lumineuse bottle contains 25 per cent recycled glass.
3. Nanushka
Nanushka is fashion darling known for their minimalist design and crisp, contemporary lines. Founded by Sandra Sándor, the Budapest based brand has been dedicated from the get-go to responsible production using materials that have a lower impact on the environment.
With a goal to use materials that are not only less harmful but also regenerative, the brand believes circularity, re-use and second life are key, upcycling deadstock materials for upcoming collections and reselling or donating the remainder. Stylish AND sustainable: we can get behind that.
4. Kester Black
So much more than skin deep, Australian-founded beauty brand Kester Black has some of the most impressive eco and vegan-friendly credentials on the market. The first beauty brand to achieve the ultra-rigorous B Corp certification, they offer 100 per cent vegan, carbon neutral and cruelty-free products (delivered in low-impact packaging).
Best known for their richly pigmented nail polishes and their long-wearing and inclusive range of lip colours, this little-brand-that-could is now a major player in beauty, expanding into skincare and winning just about every beauty award you can think of. Love a home-grown success story.
*All information regarding product ingredients provided to ELLE is reproduced in good faith.
