Four years in the making, Sydney Brown is set to launch biodegradable footwear range this summer. The sustainable vegan shoe designer, who takes a holistic approach to design, always creates her collection in a way that respects the environment. Working with sustainable material development the brand has become known for revolving around the concept of “reverence for life”, especially when it comes to human, animal and the environment.
Driven to make sure every element of her shoes is free of animal products, Brown’s PETA approved footwear uses non-animal fat glues developed in-house by adhesive chemists. She is also hoping in the not too distant future to develop ‘zero-waste’ technology that allows for the exact shoe pattern to be grown with cellular agriculture. For now Brown use fennel, a plant-based material. “[Fennel] has been the most surprising [material] because it’s so water resistant, and it’s very durable, and it’s been an amazing material,” said the designer.
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On plastic pollution, Brown told Vice,“We’ve had a very strong commitment to using as little plastic as possible. With every collection, we try to do a bit better.” With celebrities like Natalie Portman loving her 100% vegan shoes collection, Brown’s line of ethical footwear is available at fashion-forward retailer Urban Outfitters. Looking to the future, Brown hopes to design clothes, but first, we can look forward to the debut of her Spring/Summer handbag collection next year.
Founding editor-in-chief of FashNerd.com, Muchaneta is currently one of the leading influencers writing about the merger of fashion with technology and wearable technology. She has also given talks at Premiere Vision, Munich Fabric Start and Pure London, to name a few. Besides working as a fashion innovation consultant for various fashion companies like LVMH Atelier, Muchaneta has also contributed to Vogue Business, is a senior contributor at The Interline and an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL.