A Vegan Footwear Brand That Offers Individuality, Authenticity, & Sustainability: Beyond Skin
Tearsheet by Casey Claros.
1. Where are you from?
Our studio is based in Brighton & Hove, UK. This is where we design all of our collections. We love it here as we take so much inspiration from the sea and the vintage architecture and style.
2. What kind of brand are you?
We are a luxury vegan shoe brand. We champion our values and want to share them with all of our followers and customers.
3. Where are you making your creations?
All of our shoes are designed in our studio in Brighton, UK and are handmade in our factories in Spain. We have a close relationship with our factories, and so can be confident that no one is being exploited in the making of our shoes.
4. What inspired you to launch this brand?
Established in 2001, Beyond Skin was founded with the clear objective of offering luxury vegan footwear that encompassed individuality, authenticity, and sustainability. We wanted to create a brand for the discerning, for those who care about where their fashion comes from and what it stands for.
Tearsheet by Casey Claros.
5. What is the iconic product of your brand and how do you produce it?
We produce luxury vegan designer shoes, and we have a capsule collection of timeless classics, which we produce in small quantities over the year. We also have, twice a year, a small collection of seasonal designs, meaning that, instead of producing a new collection every season, we work on the terms of SS and AW. We make limited quantities to avoid any excess waste, and so many of our designs are never to be seen again.
6. What’s the best opportunity you received?
In the early days of Beyond Skin, our shoes were seen on Natalie Portman, Miley Cyrus and Ann Hathaway. We love seeing celebs rocking our styles as much as we do seeing our designs out in the wild.
7. Are you concerned about the environment when you produce your creations?
Of course, as a vegan company this is the top of our list of concerns. We are always on the lookout for new fabrics which are environmentally friendly.
8. Why do you think they follow you?
We like to post photos of our lovely shoes but also thoughtful quotes and political actions as well as our ethics are very much ingrained into our brand.
9. Please describe your style?
Vintage-inspired with a contemporary twist!
10. What is next for you?
We hope to grow more over this next year. Watch this space.
Tearsheet by Casey Claros.
11. Tell us about your new collection, what materials do you use for making?
Our satins are always made from polyesters rather than viscose as viscose has a far greater impact on the environment as it's processed with huge amounts of acid chemicals. Sadly, because most viscose comes from lower income countries much of the waste from production is dumped into rivers, which often severely damages entire ecosystems. Plus, no silk is found in our satins either, so no worms are boiled alive.
Each season, we strive to be the most eco-friendly we can possibly be. Our synthetic leathers are made from cotton-backed polyurethane (PU) and are sourced from Italy. PU looks a lot like PVC leatherette, but unlike PVC it's much kinder to the environment. PVC contains chlorine, a toxic chemical, which produces dioxin during its manufacturing process, that has been linked in numerous studies to estrogen-mimicking chemicals and nasties that cause asthma. PU provides all of the glamour of PVC but without being so harmful to our environment.
Although PU (polyurethane) is made from petrochemicals, turning animal hides into leather is a much more energy intensive, nasty, and polluting practice. When you consider how much energy it takes to bring up a cow never mind the messy business of tanning its skin, the environmental benefits of leather are pretty low. Although not an ideal alternative environmentally, we feel PU is clearly the lesser of two evils.
All of our shoes have 100% recycled faux leather lining with a vegetable polymer coating.
12. Tell us the premise of your Instagram page?
Sadly, our IG account @beyondskin was recently hacked, and we lost all of our 38,000 followers. We have now started totally from scratch, so please do give us a follow so we can grace your feed with beautiful shoes and important content.
13. What are you most proud of and why?
We have managed to keep our business going since 2001, which, as a small business is really difficult at times. We are proud that we have managed to keep our values and ethics even in the trickiest times.
14. Do you think and how is your brand environmentally conscious? What is it important to you?
We work closely with our team of shoemakers in Spain, using wherever possible, sustainable materials and processes developing a new kind of luxury, one that focuses on craftsmanship and seeks to slow fashion down and inspire more discerning, conscious fashion choices.
15. For you, what is the definition of Slow Fashion?
We know that slow fashion can be seen as a buzzword, but we are committed to being both socially and environmentally conscious. We produce in limited quantities with the least amount of waste possible, and we only release a collection twice a year. We like to keep our offerings small, concise, and stylish, and we listen to what our followers want. We work on slower production schedules, pay our workers fair wages, and try to keep our carbon footprint low. Everything in our studio gets recycled, and all of our packaging is recycled or recyclable. We also donate many of our samples to charity to ensure that they do not end up in landfill sites. We are always trying to improve our eco-credentials and will always welcome any ideas of how to do so.
16. What is your motto in life?
We don’t have an official Beyond Skin motto; however, we do find ourselves saying “Whatever happens, happens!” a lot. As a small business, we try to keep moving, and we don’t let the challenges bring us down. We just arise stronger.
18. Website?
Beyond-skin.com
beyond-skin.com/blog
19. Instagram?
@beyondskin
Interview by Alison Hernon, Editor-In-Chief, PhotoBook Magazine
Style With A Cause highlights designers who support a cause such as sustainability, charities, and fair trade.
