Fashion Friday: Two Words- Vegan Leather!

Callen, July 27, 2012

Vegan Leather Fit N Flare Dress, $198

Free People’s vegan leather assortment includes dresses, skirts, shirts, jackets, shorts, shoes, and even overalls; read all about FP’s vegan creative team!

By Callie McBride

Ana Hartl is the Managing Director of Creative for the Free People brand. She has been with the company for 10 years, and has been one of the biggest proponents of bringing vegan leather clothing into the Free People collection. Ever since I learned that the brand started offering vegan options, I’ve been so interested in learning more from FP about what inspired them in the first place!

C: What sparked the interest for adding vegan leather to the Free People collection?

AH: We’ve always had many vegetarians and vegans on our team, so we assumed our customers are also looking for alternatives to leather. We were really excited to start seeing vegan leather fabric qualities that looked great and were affordable and thought it was the right time to introduce this collection.

Rattlesnake Mini, $98

C: Do customers seem interested in the products?

AH: We’ve been very pleased with the reaction to our vegan leather product and its success has proven there is indeed a market for leather alternatives. The feedback from customers has been very encouraging.

Vegan Leather Cropped Skinny, $128

C: So the feedback about the quality of your vegan clothing is good?

AH: The feedback I’ve seen regarding quality has been very positive. I personally own pieces and I could not be more pleased with the quality.

Harland Vegan Boot, $140

C: It’s so cool to see so many vegan recipes being featured on the Free People blog.

AH: Yes, there are many vegans and vegetarians on our team!

Vegan Leather Overalls, $128

C: Is there a particular message that your brand hopes to deliver by producing vegan leather and posting vegan recipes?

AH: Mostly that we recognize and respect the vegan lifestyle, and we love that it is important to our customers.

Embroidered Vegan Jacket, $248

C: True or false: something can be fashionable and vegan at the same time.

AH: Very much true! {We agree!}

Vegan Leather Freha Culottes, $132

C: Any other changes within the company that are benefiting the environment?

AH: We are very interested in discovering new ways to merge fashion and the environment, so stay tuned!

Quilted Vegan Leather Jacket, $168

Thank you so much, Ana! I think I can speak for most vegans when I say that we are thrilled to find such fashionable and cruelty-free clothing at Free People. We are excited to see what’s in store for vegan products in the future, but for now, it looks like I-along with many others-will be stopping by your website for a little retail therapy…