Fashion trends ebb and flow constantly. Style icons have revived fashions of yesteryear and created new movements, and the giants of fashion – and the stars who style them – have now turned their backs on clothing made from animals. Some big celebrities have helped fund this new wave of fashionable vegan clothing by investing in the companies that powered this movement.
Whether leather or fur, non-sustainable animal clothing is no longer en vogue. With calls for animal welfare and environmental protection, celebrities have chosen to support sustainable materials and pressured fashion houses like Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and others to ban animal products. Currently, over 1,500 retailers have joined the Fur Free Alliance and have committed to ban fur from future collections. These companies include big luxury fashion brands like Armani, Prada, Versace and others.
Last December the big fashion magazine ELLE announced it would implement a worldwide ban on the removal of fur from the magazine’s editorial and advertising sections. ELLE was the first fashion magazine to introduce such a ban. The official ban came into effect on January 1, 2022, and the 41 branches will follow continuously throughout the year.
Leading the general public, high-profile investments have fueled the growth of the sustainable fashion industry. High-profile investors and celebrity entrepreneurs like Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna and Billie Eilish have helped bring sustainable fashion into the mainstream. A study by PETA concluded that the fur industry is incredibly harmful to the environment, citing the land, water and energy waste generated by livestock.
Stella McCartney – fashion icon, daughter of Paul McCartney and former sustainability advisor to LVMH – puts great fashion designers to the test. The Meat Free Monday co-founder is helping to change fashion and unveiled her most sustainable collection last fall. Stella McCartney’s sustainable collection joins a growing list of celebrity investments, clothing ranges and start-ups. Now the sustainable fashion industry is being introduced by a respected cast of celebrities.
Table of Contents
10 celebrities who have invested in sustainable fashion
Billie Eilish
20-year-old pop icon Billie Eilish has helped Nike create not one, but two vegan versions of the company’s iconic shoes. Eilish helped Nike launch leather-free versions of the Air Force 1 and Air Jordans.
Chris Hemsworth
Thor Star Chris Hemsworth helped Hugo Boss become the first major fashion house to make plant-leather shoes in 2019. Hemsworth joined the team as an ambassador as the company seeks to reduce energy use by 30 percent and lower its carbon emissions.
Jason Mamoa
2021, Aquaman‘s leading man Jason Mamoa launched a sustainable sneaker brand that makes shoes from seaweed. Mamoa’s So iLL works closely with BLOOM to create an eco-friendly shoe designed to protect the planet.
John legend
John Legend helped vegan leather company MycoWorks secure a $45 million investment package to make more sustainable leather from mushrooms called Reishi. More recently, Mycoworks raised $125 million to scale production as vegan leather becomes more popular.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Environmentalist and Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio got into the sustainable fashion market early when he invested in Allbirds in 2018. The sustainable shoe brand developed a shoe sole made from renewable sugar cane.
Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus has teamed up with Converse to launch the Converse x Miley Cyrus collection, releasing a 19-piece, fully vegan selection. The collection featured vegan Chuck Taylor Allstars and a wide range of gender-neutral, sustainable streetwear.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman joined John Legend and helped MycoWorks secure its Series B funding round, which helped the brand perfect their vegan reishi leather and expand production capabilities.
rihanna
Rihanna took vegan fashion into her own hands, releasing a vegan leather capsule collection under her clothing line Fenty in April 2020. The faux leather collection included oversized shirts, jackets, corset dresses, pants and more.
Rooney Mara
Rooney Mara – vegan activist and star of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – launched vegan womenswear brand Hiraeth Collective in 2018. In partnership with Sara Schloat and Chrys Wong, Mara promotes cruelty-free fashion through this venture.
Rosario Dawson
Rosario Dawson has partnered with Abrima Ewiah to create Studio One Eighty Nine, dedicated to creating sustainable African and African-inspired clothing. The company won the CFDA Lexus Fashion Initiative for Sustainability and uses only natural plant colors and sustainable materials.
For more herbal events, check out The Beet’s News articles.