Food and fashion joined forces at the NY Coalition for Healthy School Food’s “Healthy Food in Fashion” fall gala on Wednesday night, and Ecouterre was on the scene scoping out the hottest designs from the night’s vegan fashion show. We chatted with VPL designer Victoria Bartlett, who has been practicing and preaching cruelty-free fashion since the early days of her career. We also received the inside scoop on why animal products are verboten in her clothes, the significance of using human hair as accessories, and her favorite meat-free recipe.
Tell us about some of your looks tonight and what inspired them?
Well, the looks are actually from the recent runway show in NY, and the whole collection is based on going back to the birth of our planet and on Darwin’s theories of how everything began…all the invertebrates and non-mammals, sort of pre-proper plant life. So in the back of the pink dress you’ve got all these layers which are kind of like the crinoids, which are these early fossils, and the wax [garment] is more of like a molluscullar silhouette.
I think people in fashion are very much sort of guided by food, as well.
So the collection sort of ties into biology, science and food?
Yes, exactly. Food, nature. Nature is something that’s always inspired me.
Speaking of food, since we are at the Healthy Food in Fashion Gala, do you think there is a connection between food and fashion?
Definitely. They both go in genres and I think people in fashion are very much sort of guided by food, as well. There’s trends and there’s tastes and there’s always genres of new cuisine. But there’s also health things, for me, I’m very regimented about what I eat. I’m very healthy with my food choices.
We can tell—you look great!
Aww, thanks! (Laughs.)
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