Review: Bare Fashion Show
The Bare Fashion Show was London’s first vegan fashion show and held in August 2018. It sent sustainable and vegan fashion down the runway nestled inside The Boiler House on Brick Lane. Ahead of the fashion show, guests were able to explore the vendors showcasing at the event. I was quite disappointed with a couple of their choices of brands to partner with, but mostly I had a good, fun evening.
VIP Passes
I booked in advance and secured myself an Early Bird VIP ticket for £28 which included entry to the venue, an Eco Glitter Fun makeover, an Eat Chay meal and a really snazzy goody bag worth over £50. Needless to say, this was a great bargain. You can watch me empty the goody bag here:
The Catwalk
32 looks in total were shown down the catwalk with designs from People Tree, ETHCS, Bourgeois Boheme, Komodo and many others. Unfortunately there was no announcer or host to introduce the looks or talk about the designs. This made it hard to keep track of designers as well as understanding which ethics brought the designs to the show. However below you can find some of my favourite looks.
The above designers L-R are: ETHCS, Alice Vandy, Komodo & Helen Van Rees
How vegan was the show?
Ahead of the show, the venue was full of vegan vendors in a sort of exclusive night market. It was a chance to explore new brands and play with products not found on the high street. Whilst most of the brands were well selected, there were a few choices that disappointed me.
BEAUTY
It was really disappointing to see both Aveda and Kat Von D stalls at the show. Aveda are owned by animal testing Estée Lauder. Whereas Kat Von D’s parent company Kendo isn’t wholly cruelty free (more on this here). Whilst it’s each vegan’s choice to support parent-owned companies or not, I don’t think they should be showcased at a vegan event.
However there were a few brilliant vegan beauty stalls at the event like Optiat who create beauty from waste, Mono Naturoils who use sustainable, high quality oils and Tropika who showcased their coconut based products.
FASHION
Whilst there were some great vegan brands on the catwalk like ETHCS (save 10% with discount code veganbynicole) and Hetty + Sam it was disappointing that not all the brands involved were fully vegan. Hellen van Rees designs care for sustainability but her range features silk, Komodo use a lot of sustainable fabrics but also wool. A lot of brands featured followed this similar pattern.
Verdict
It was a great night to discover new brands. Despite some questionable partnerships, I was really glad to have gone. My ticket was well worth the money and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. I wish that there had been a show guide or an announcer to help us keep track during the show.
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