Ever since Phoebe Philo revived Céline, a wardrobe of clean lines, versatile pieces, and a palette kept down to an absolute minimum of black, white, and neutral shades have become the tell-tale signs of sophisticated taste. If you fancy yourself a fashion minimalists, here’s the curated list of vegan brands to browse and check out.
Emilia Ohrtmann (womenswear)
Every time a woman needs to be empowered, designers will turn to masculine forms to give her wardrobe an edge. For Emilia Ohrtmann, the contemporary feel is accomplished by keeping it simple with clean lines, slightly oversized cuts, and a disciplined colour palette. And since technically black and white are shades, not colours, that basically narrows the palette down to blue with an occasional pop of red.
VFR’s pick: ‘Audrey Shirt’ in white. It’s basically the white shirt of vegan fashion.
Kapok Knot (unisex, womenswear, menswear)
Their outerwear items are as versatile as it gets. Kapok Knot’s patent on Ethical Down KapokⓇ – Indonesian kapok fibre processed into light, warm, fluffy sheets – allows the brand to create some sleek items for colder days without compromising on the ‘I’m too cool to layer up’ attitude. Also, a big shout-out for giving dear old kapok a hi-tech remake.
VFR’s pick: ‘Air Light Poncho’ in terracotta
LO NEEL (womenswear)
At first, everything just makes perfect sense. A set of classic wardrobe pieces, a typically minimalistic colour palette, some striped items (which you kind of expect from a French brand) and then those teeny tiny tweaks that leave everything up in the air with a ‘je ne sais quoi‘ kind of flair. Also, one can’t go wrong with rose petal fibre acting as a silk alternative.
VFR’s pick: ‘Erika’ shirt dress in emerald green. Yes, that one is indeed made of rose petal fibre.
Natu (womenswear)
Remember those slip dresses of the 90s that looked so great everybody just forgot that they had any other patterned items for the rest of the decade? Somos Natu has a few of them, and then some more. The brand also runs its own journal that keeps track of artists and artisans that are as inspiring as they are cool. All items are handcrafted from certified fabrics in Brazil.
VFR’s pick: ‘Pistachio Cutout Dress’ from vegan silk crepe (TENCEL™ Modal)
Non (denim menswear)
Non elevates both denim and menswear alike. Firstly, it’s selvedge denim, which means the weave is so strong and durable it does not fray at the edges. Secondly, all items are made from organic and recycled cotton exclusively, which means they can all be recycled and will create minimal waste at the end of their life. And, last but not least, a menswear brand of such pure, minimalistic aesthetic is simply a gem.
VFR’s pick: bomber jacket in raw indigo
Explore more than 500 vegan fashion brands in our directory here.