The Coolest Faux Leather and Faux Fur Looks at Copenhagen and Berlin Fashion Weeks AW2026

Even though the seasons are not what they used to be, what still makes autumn/winter collections genuinely exciting is curated layering. Real leather jackets and recycled fur, however, do little for a vegan or consciously minded reader. This is why, twice a year at fashion weeks, we search high and low for runway pieces that are both cool and free from animal-derived components. This season, Copenhagen and Berlin delivered beautifully.

Faux fur on the runway is hardly a phenomenon. Still, even with fur-farming bans and anti-fur legislation gaining momentum in 2025, the resurgence of ‘real-looking fur’ and even ‘recycled real fur’ in AW2025 collections did give us pause. This season, however, fur was scarce — and where it appeared, it functioned more as embellishment than as full looks, with only a few notable exceptions.

In Copenhagen, MKDT Studio showcased two faux-fur coats designed for ‘real women’ with ‘real lives’. In Berlin, Thomas Hanisch — yes, the very same designer who dressed Lady Gaga — staged a notable return with his ‘Exos’ collection. The work reads almost as a study (the art-historical term is used deliberately) of animal defence mechanisms — horns, shells and feathers. It was the faux feathers that left us momentarily breathless.

What we particularly appreciate is that many brands — though not entirely vegan — are increasingly choosing to present statement pieces, the ones destined for social media and editorials, in faux leather for reasons that go beyond simple presentation cost optimisation (yes, we are aware of that factor too).

In Copenhagen, OpéraSPORT uses recycled or water-based PU in place of animal leather, aligning animal welfare considerations with a lower-impact material agenda. Baum und Pferdgarten presented a collection dedicated to Amelia Earhart — the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932 — embodying both a free, unrestricted spirit (it did take courage to fly in the early days of aviation) and disciplined precision. If the collection was the sky, the faux leather pieces (polyurethane and recycled polyester) were undoubtedly its brightest stars.

Fine Chaos showed a few faux-leather pieces — including unisex pieces, which is always a score — but the standout was a sleeveless jacket crafted using their signature technique of hand-layering natural latex over denim, creating a leather-like, worn texture (and yes, the spiked bag deserves real attention too). The brand has applied this technique to pieces large and small over the past few seasons, and we simply can’t wait to see more of it — both on the runway and in stores.

In Berlin, Maria Chany did it again, presenting pieces that command attention in any setting — precisely why we follow her. Maximilian Gedra is the designer to watch, crafting complex, sculptural silhouettes — true wearable art — entirely from vegan leather, while experimenting with plant-based alternatives to “do their part in sustainability and animal welfare.”

At Vegan Fashion Repository, we are always pleased to spot genuinely exciting runway pieces made from materials for which no animals were harmed — particularly where leather or fur might still be the default choice. It may take time for innovative, low-impact plant-based materials to storm the catwalks, yet alternatives are already firmly part of the conversation.

Cheers to that.