And now, Vaute Couture!……Nona Walia
Silk, pearls, shoes and bone china — some of the most luxurious choices we make are cruelest to animals. Indian designers at the top are shockingly unaware of a movement that has its genesis in India and is all set to sweep the world!
Silk, pearls, shoes and bone china — some of the most luxurious choices we make are cruelest to animals. Indian designers at the top are shockingly unaware of a movement that has its genesis in India and is all set to sweep the world!
An unlikely trend is elbowing its way into the luxury market. It’s not silk-lined, wool-edged or leather-strapped. Neither is it limited or special edition. It’s the rise of ethical choices in the field of personal wear and lifestyle.
Compassion is back in business. If an animal was harmed to make a material, then that fabric is off limits. Ethical pin-ups are saying ‘no’ to silk, wool, leather, pearls and even bone china crockery. From vegan belts to shoes; from Ahimsa silk kurtas to green pottery, a slow movement is on the rise that’s being defined as making ‘cruelty-free, kinder lifestyle choices’.
And once again, though the concept originated in India, it is the West that is ushering in a wave of compassionate consumerism. Even as select people in India consciously go for non-violent choices in personal wear as well as lifestyle objects, it is in markets outside the country that vegan personal products are creating a wave. And though some designers such as Wendell Rodricks, Anita Dongre, Deepika Govind and Samant Chauhan are working with vegan choices, most top designers seemed unaware of vegan fashion and its availability in India!
Recently, Mumbai-based accessory designer Rina Shah, known for her vegan belts, bags and footwear gave Hollywood actor Natalie Portman a pair of vegan shoes for her birthday. Says Rina Shah, “I chose Portman because she has been a long-time supporter of animal rights. I’ve been making vegan footwear and belts for a while now. It’s a cruelty-free ethical choice. Vegan footwear is a rage from New York to London. I use man-made leather from Italy for my exclusive vegan collection, it doesn’t harm the environment.” Rina retails in Lisa Sommers’ store in the US, called Ahimsa Footwear. According to Sommers, “Everything that you wear, even on your feet, must be pure; even shoes you wear must have a soul and shouldn’t be unkind.”
In New York, MooShoes is a guilt-free shop retailing vegan accessories; it was the brainwave of two sisters Erica and Sara Kubersky who got the Progressive Business Award for their compassionate business idea and huge turnover.
The financial success of vegan couture has everyone talking about the rise of Vaute Couture, clothes that are vegan and haute! The inventor of Vaute Couture, Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart believes it’s new ideas like these that will eventually change the world.
Celebrities are going all out to support ‘responsible luxury’ to show that they care. Stella McCartney makes ‘vegetarian’ shoes and bags that sell for a whopping £745; Jemima Khan’s new fashion label also promotes ‘vegan’ clothes. Cultural czar Martand Singh aka Mapu prefers to wear Ahimsa Silk kurtas. What’s more, at the Oscars this year, James Cameron’s wife wore an aqua blue Ahimsa Silk gown.
Ethical living is now the driving force behind new innovations in fabric and materials. Hyderabad-based Kusuma Rajaiah is the inventor and patent-holder of Ahimsa Silk. He says, “The revolutionary Ahimsa Silk is an alternative silk fabric where there is no killing and no cruelty to animals, and the fabric value is totally protected. Former President Venkatraman’s wife Janaki asked me to work on a silk that was non-violent, and did not involve killing of worms.” Why, even Megawati Sukarnoputri, former Indonesian President, purchased six Ahimsa Silk saris from Rajaiah.
An elegant silk sari destroys 50,000 silk worms. That’s the reason actors like Shabana Azmi and Amala prefer Ahimsa or non-violent silk. For Rajaiah, the inspiration was Mahatma Gandhi, who first invented the philosophy of ‘Ahimsa’ fabrics. Gandhiji’s granddaughter Tara Gandhi, vice-chairperson of Gandhi Smriti says, “I don’t wear any silks and I hate to wear leather too. Gandhiji believed in ‘vegetarian’ living choices.”
Pune-based Leelavati Sabale’s company Ahimsa Silk Pvt Ltd is India’s biggest exporter of Ahimsa silk. “We’re exporting Ahimsa Silk to leading fashion houses in the West. India is still slow in making green and cruelty-free choices.”
Is the luxury buyer aware of his vegan choices that are not cruel or unkind? “Not really,” says Manish Jain, founder of indianvegan.com, “Many people in India are not using silk, wool, leather or honey. I know of people who don’t use bone china crockery as it is made from animal bones. We don’t want to use slaughterhouse products. Even some pearls are made with artificial breeding of the oysters.”
There are people who are stopping to think and question if every thread that they use to weave a garment is cruelty-free and kind. Bangalore-based designer Deepika Govind’s worked for two years to create the ‘Eri-Peace Silk’ which is non-violent. Says Deepika, “I wanted to find a silk that did not harm any life form. The Ahimsa fabric available till now was rough and expensive. We used a technique where the Eri cocoons are open-ended, thus allowing the moth to fly to freedom.”” Besides silk, people are using other vegan fabrics like organic cotton with no pesticides, linen made from flax, jute, bamboo, soya and banana fibre.
Says designer Wendell Rodricks, “I’m all for Ahimsa as it is non-violent and has the same lustre.”
From Ahimsa silk to footwear, from green pottery tableware to vegan belts — high living just got more ethical!