PETA Fashion Awards 2023

 

The PETA Fashion Awards celebrate the progressive brands making big statements for animals and the planet. From animal-free designer bags to labels that are banning exotic skins, our 2023 winners are at the forefront of the vegan fashion revolution.

  • Good Guys Don’t Wear Leather

    Best Movie Moment: Ryan Gosling wearing vegan boots by Good Guys Don’t Wear Leather in Barbie

    He’s not just Ken in these eco-friendly “Lucky” vegan boots from Good Guys Don’t Wear Leather. Western-inspired boots are all the rage at the moment, and this design, featured in the most talked-about movie of the year, leaves cows in peace.

  • Best High-Street Fashion Moment: SMCP bans feathers
    Sandro, Maje, and Claudie Pierlot are go-to brands for lovers of the French-chic style, and their cool factor increased when the entire SMCP group committed to dropping cruelly obtained feathers from all its ranges. On behalf of geese and ducks, merci beaucoup!

  • Best Luxury Moment: Isabel Marant bans fur, exotic skins, and angora
    Catwalk favourite Isabel Marant took a stand for animals when the company confirmed that no fur, angora, or exotic skins are used in its collections. Fashionistas who eagerly await the Marant show every Paris Fashion Week now have another reason to love the brand.

  • Blue District

    Best Vegan Feathers: Blue District
    Made from eco-friendly bamboo, Blue District’s vegan feathers are soft and luxurious, and no ostriches or other living, feeling beings had to be violently plucked – or killed at just a year old – for their production. This red carpet–ready creation is 100% cruelty-free.

  • Gucci

    Best Vegan Bag: Gucci Horsebit Demetra
    A vegan Gucci bag might sound like the stuff of dreams, but the Demetra Horsebit is a reality. This animal-friendly version of Gucci’s iconic Horsebit bag is made with the brand’s own vegan leather, Demetra – and it can count Billie Eilish among its fans!

  • Ponda

    Best Vegan Down: Ponda BioPuff bulrush down
    Ponda’s (formerly Saltyco) innovative material comes from nature – and spares ducks and geese the painful ordeal of being plucked alive for their feathers. BioPuff is made with bulrush, a plant that grows in UK peatlands and marshes, making it a kind choice for the planet and animals.

  • Bananatex

    Innovation of the Year: Bananatex
    Not only do bananas make a perfect base for smoothies, serve as an egg replacement in baking, and offer an abundance of potassium – they can also be used to make clothes! The sturdy high-tech fabric created by Bananatex is made from Abacá banana plants and can replace fashion industry synthetic staples such as polyester.


  • Best Vegan Shoes: MoEa
    This “PETA-Approved Vegan” brand is a compassionate trainer-lover’s dream – its collections feature plant leathers made from oranges, cacti, pineapples, and grapes. The perfect addition to any casual-chic outfit, these trainers are as sustainable as they are stylish.

  • Christian MacLeod

    Best Menswear: Christian MacLeod
    With sustainability at the forefront of his ethos, Scottish designer Christian MacLeod has created a range of leather-free belts and accessories for the conscious modern man. His edgy designs, made with recycled materials, will add a stylish touch to any look – without involving the torture of animals for their skin.

  • Balenciaga

    Best Luxury Product: Balenciaga LUNAFORM Maxi Bathrobe Coat
    Balenciaga is once again championing vegan leather with its animal- and plastic-free material LUNAFORM, made from fermented nanocellulose. Balenciaga has used this luxe textile for its statement Maxi Bathrobe Coat – but we predict that we’ll see it in many more designs to come.

  • Ganni

    Trendsetter of the Year: Ganni
    One of the most conscious labels in the world of luxury fashion, Danish brand Ganni has not only sworn off virgin leather but also created a 100% vegan bag made with Ohoskin, a material derived from orange and cactus waste. The brand has continued to experiment with innovative plant-based materials, creating a jacket made from bacterial cellulose membrane, rather than the skin of cows, in collaboration with material innovation company Polybion.

  • Total Ethics Fashion

    Essential Reading Award: Emma Håkansson, Total Ethics Fashion
    A voice for animals, including humans, and the planet, Collective Fashion Justice founder Emma Håkansson has penned a manifesto for conscious fashion that truly encompasses all aspects of ethics. Her book Total Ethics Fashion: People, our Fellow Animals and the Planet Before Profit is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand the industry better and make more compassionate choices.

  • Villain of the Year: Woolmark
    A total of 15 undercover investigations by PETA entities into over 100 wool-producing facilities on four continents have shown that abhorrent cruelty to animals is rampant in the wool industry. Woolmark is a trademark owned by Australian Wool Innovation, the organisation representing the primary source of the world’s wool, but the company persistently deceives consumers. Most recently, it created a misleading narrative that pits wool against synthetic materials – completely disregarding vegan materials like organic cotton, hemp, Tencel, recycled fibres, and many others. Don’t be fooled – and leave wool on the shelf.

When used for their skin, fur, wool, or feathers, animals are treated as commodities, but each of these living, feeling beings is an individual who experiences joy, fear, loneliness, and pain. Thanks to brands such as our compassionate award winners, the fashion industry is changing and we’re moving towards a kinder, more sustainable future without animal-derived products.

To shop for more animal-free fashion, check out some of the “PETA-Approved Vegan” brands and our guide to vegan fashion basics:

 

A Guide to Vegan Fashion

“PETA-Approved Vegan”