Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, founder of Vaute Couture, the first and only vegan winter coat line on the market sat down with the Sparrow Project this fall for an interview where she detailed her 8 months of fabric research for a vegan alternative to wool that was slim & pretty but ready for a Chicago winter. Leanne is the first to use a fabric that is wind/snow resistant, designed to retain heat, and completely recyclable and vegan, lined in a windproof 100% recycled closed loop zero waste ripstop. The line is limited run and only 25 of each color and style have been produced for her launch.
One style in Leanne’s line, the Vaute, has been named one of 22 best new coats by Chicago Magazine, and donates all net profits to the Farm Sanctuary. Leanne has a laundry list of celebrity fans including Alicia Silverstone, Emily Deschanel, and Ginnifer Goodwin.
Leanne has been vegan since she was 17 and vegetarian since age 10, her background is not in fashion but in activism and start-ups, as she has been advocating for animals since she was 8 years old and helped push a bill into law at 17, for dissection alternatives in IL schools. She has been named 20 under 30 by VegNews Magazine and featured in Entrepreneur Magazine and the LA Times who had this to say about Vaute Couture, “Vegan fashion takes a turn for the stylish.”