Veganism, a term that encompasses all types of vegan lifestyle, is about not just your diet but also beauty and fashion.

Veganism, a term that encompasses all types of vegan lifestyle, is getting much attention. Weekly current affair magazine Economist declared last year to be the ‘vegan year’ through its ‘World Economy Outlook 2019’. In Korea, vegetarianism is also a cultural phenomenon. There are more restaurants that introduce vegan menu, and the beauty industry is launching vegan cosmetics that do not involve animal testing. This means that veganism culture is not limited to eating habits but also affects all lifestyle. The fashion industry is also introducing ‘Vegan Fashion’.

Ethical consumption that stops indiscriminating animal sacrifice

‘Vegan Fashion’ is the fashion that does not sacrifice animals in the production process.

‘Vegan Fashion’ is a new word combined by putting the word vegan in front of fashion. It refers to the fashion with eco-friendly production processes that do not involve animal sacrifice. The meaning of vegan is not limited to food. ‘Vegan society’, a prominent vegan organization, defines vegan as not only not eating animals but also not consuming products and culture that sacrifice animals. This includes people who do not use products that carry out animal testing and who do not enjoy entertainments that make use of animals.

A single mink coat sacrifices 50~60 minks.

How did the term ‘Vegan Fashion’ come about? It sprang from issuing problems with unethical material exploitation and environmental pollution that take place when obtaining animal materials such as goose feathers and fur. To make a single mink coat, 50~60 minks are sacrificed. A single adult’s coat requires 20 foxes or up to 125 racoons. To stop such indiscriminative animal sacrifice, Vegan Fashion began to emerge.

Vegan Fashion is now a trend.

Many international fashion brands including Stella McCartney have declared suspension of fur use (photography source. COURTESY OF STELLA MCCARTNEY).

Vegan Fashion is now a trend in the fashion industry. Starting with Stella McCartney in 2016, many brands including Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein, etc., have declared suspension of fur use; Michael Kors announced that they would stop producing leather goods. Gucci, Vivienne Westwood, Burberry, Versace, and Coach also announced their fur free policy. London Fashion Week, one of the 4 biggest Fashion Weeks in the world, stopped showcasing fur since September 2018.

Fake fur that does not sacrifice animals, clothes and bags made of recycled fabric, etc. are getting popular (photography source. North Face official homepage).

Consumers’ interest in ethical consumption naturally led to eco fur or fake fur, which is made from acryl or polyester rather than animal materials. The popularity of eco fur rose so steep that people began to recoil from wearing fur. Famous celebrities wearing eco fur made headlines in Korea. The products that involve less environment pollution during the production processes also appeared. Prada launched products made with recycled nylon, from plastic waste and fishing nets from the ocean, while North Face launched jackets and bags made from recycling products.

“Wear an imaginary animal for the animals you love”

A Korean Vegan Fashion brand ‘Vegan Tiger’ only produces clothes using non-animal materials (photography source. Vegan Tiger official homepage).

Vegan Fashion brands that only produce Vegan Fashion are getting attention from all over the world as well. ‘Shrimp’, a brand that manufactures fake fur, is already well known among those who are against animal massacre or those who wear fake fur. They are loved for their unique design and vivid colors. There’s also a Vegan Fashion brand in Korea. ‘Vegan Tiger’ only creates clothes with non-animal materials. Their fake fur coats are so similar to actual fur coats. Not only coats, but they also make dresses and denim jackets. Recently, they introduce ‘Super Animal Fur’ with Innocean, which is fur created from imaginary animals.

Innocean and Vegan Tiger introduced their exotic animal protection campaign ‘Super Animal Fur’ video.

Innocean and Vegan Tiger’s collaboration ‘Super Animal Fur’ is an exotic animal protection campaign. With the product launch, they released the campaign video. It raised awareness about fake fur products with the ‘mysterious and alluring imaginary animal’ concept. The Super Animal Fur campaign was designed to change the consumers’ attitude by providing a new attraction aspect to fake fur products rather than directly attacking the faults of animal fur use. It delivers the message “wear an imaginary animal for the animals you love”.

Campaign video delivers the message; “wear an imaginary animal for the animals you love.”

Campaign video is about a super animal hunter getting a super animal ‘Saekmyorim (an imaginary giant cat)’’s fur. Rather than bullets, the hunter uses ‘Bee-Gun’, which shoots honeybees, to transfer ‘Saekmyorim’ into cloud clothes. The video introduces a non-cruel way of getting fur from an imaginary super animal. Let’s see the fun, creative and ethical Vegan Fashion video, shall we?

▶ Exotic animal protection campaign ‘Super Animal Fur’ video

The Vegan Fashion wave is expected to receive continuous attention from the public as the ethical consumption trend is on the rise. Vegan Fashion hurts nothing and sacrifices nothing. We hope this fashion trend is not a fad but lasts long, getting much attention from many people.