Handbag lovers, unite!

Vegan leather is on the rise and it is both beautiful and better for the planet By Karin Ridgers

Since going vegan 25 years ago, I have avoided wearing animal products and I have never had a problem. However, drilling deeper into the issue… was the glue vegan on everything I bought? Were the dyes vegan? How far down the rabbit hole do we venture? Luckily, these issues are fading into the distance as the hard work is being sorted for us with fantastic entrepreneurs who have researched and found veganfriendly solutions.

Like many of us, I love shoes and handbags, and they can be statement pieces that say, ‘look at me!’ like those from Vendula London or the more subtle VEGAN Happy Clothing designs, intended to spark a conversation.

M&S now label their vegan footwear

— a fantastic move forward and, of course, you must have read my friend Victoria Featherstone Pearce’s regular fashion column in Vegan Life. Every month, Victoria shares stunning high-end vegan fashion.

It is fantastic that no matter your budget, there is something cruelty-free.

Recently, I chatted with Raymond Lam, the man behind pioneering fashion brand Vendula London (vendulalondon.com), which has been championing vegan leather for 20 years.

“Our dream was and still is to produce stunning bags using animal-friendly materials in an environmentally sustainable manner. It all began when I was looking through a magazine with a friend and we saw that all the high-end fashion bags were made from exotic animal skins; we knew we just had to do something about this.”

“At the time, no one was talking about the environment or how to avoid using animal skins. It is fantastic that people are so much more aware now.”

“We started using cotton bags and moved to vegan leather — however, at the time, the quality wasn’t good enough. We felt that with the right materials and craftmanship we could create beautiful pieces with vegan leathers, so Vendula London was born.”

Although I love supporting fellow vegan companies like Vendula, it is also great to see retailers like New Look launching vegan shoes and boots. Some of the high heels, I must say, are a distant dream for me now! Memories of me running around London jumping on tubes with five-inch block heels have made way for sparkly flat shoes that feel like marshmallows when I slip them on.

I also caught up with the Vendula London design team… What an exciting career!

What changes have you seen for vegan fashion, since you started at Vendula London?

“We have noticed a shift in lifestyle choices for many people across fashion, food, health and lifestyle — more people are paying attention to how they can adopt environmentally friendly habits. There is definitely a trend in making more thoughtful purchases and cutting out fast fashion.”

That’s fantastic to hear — and what do you think is the best vegan leather?

“The vegan leather industry is really exciting and there are so many recycled and plantbased material options to discover. We are always exploring and trying to work with sensational materials and fabrics to push our bags forward.”

But is vegan leather as lasting as animal leather?

“There are many pros to vegan leather — it is easier to manufacture, animal crueltyfree, easy to clean, and can be more sustainable due to fewer processes needed to produce it. However, like all materials it needs some TLC to keep it looking its best, so if cared for in the right way a vegan leather handbag should bring many years of wear!”

So, can you spill the beans…? What are the must-have styles for 2022?

“Well, we are famous for our timeless classics, our beautiful Grace bag and iconic Grab bag are our season staples and can be found in every collection. Each season, we introduce top secret new styles — and we can promise our Spring/Summer 2022 collection will be fun, colourful and jam-packed with new and amazingly detailed bags!”

“All our artwork is original; we have illustrators drawing everything from scratch working in all types of mediums to then translate onto the bags. Our bags are all handmade and so each one is individual, which is part of the beautiful quirk of Vendula.”

And they are stunning bags, too — there really is so much choice now. You can look and feel fantastic in today’s world, with no animals harmed.

For more from Karin, visit veggievisiondating. com, veggievision. tv and madpromotions.com.