COMPASSION IS FASHION

By Greater Good Magazine and VLUX

The Pelush concept has been created to reposition and transform the boundaries of the faux fur world; a ReFAUXlution. Through meticulous research and the selection of the finest Italian fabrics, and the best man-made pelage, each coat is carefully crafted to create a luxurious and elegant experience.

Pelush offers bespoke products with graceful monograms, oneof-a-kind linings, trims, handmade crochet and jewel appliqués, making the coats truly distinctive and personal.

A cruelty-free product, Pelush is a wonderful alternative for the modern woman in search of glamour, comfort, and the warmth of a plush coat.

We had a wonderful opportunity to talk to Anna Tagliabue, Founder and Creative Director.

You are ahead of your time, when did you originally come up with this concept?

I’ve always been a futurist, always looking for what’s ahead, a trend setter, loving fashion and exploring new possibilities, inventing, reinventing, ques-

ANNA TAGLIABUE, FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR

tioning everything and being curious.

The original idea was brewing in my head for over two decades. In my early twenties I worked for the luxury fashion house of Fendi, and that’s where the first inspiration originated. Back then, we didn’t have any of the technical alternatives we have today, only wool or fur to keep us warm. One day, Fendi made the most beautiful faux fur coat. It looked exactly like the real sheared mink that was on display. I immediately fell in love with this product. I found it so cool and innovative, like something from the future. I thought to myself: “if we can reproduce something that looks and feels the same, that has the same luxurious glamorous effect, we won’t need to kill beautiful innocent animals anymore. How wonderful this would be!”

So, I started doing market research all over the world, but I had to wait 18 years for the technology to achieve the exceptional quality we have accomplished today. Now, we can reproduce, replicate and mimic any kind of animal fur that exists in nature, and even invent new ones, giving a fashion designer a more extensive choice and inspiring more creativity.

Faux fur is the most exciting fabric technology of our time and always a better choice, environmentally and ethically.

How challenging is it to get the brand recognized in the fashion world today versus five years ago?

The world has completely changed in the past five to seven years. Thanks to social media and the speed with which we receive information, consumer awareness and habits have switched towards a more conscious, sustainable and ethical lifestyle, as it should be. All the animal cruelty behind fashion and other industries has been exposed, and people are not okay with it. Now before buying something, we think of who we’re supporting, and cast a vote with every purchase. Retail is completely at a halt right now and very soon we’re going to see the collapse of many prominent fashion houses, even the most established ones with old traditional backgrounds, because of the new consumer moral choices and because of the abrupt climate crisis that is going to change everything.

A fashion house or designer must always be in tune with the social climate they’re living in and be able to foresee future shifts and tendencies. Today, it is very difficult to get exposure unless you pay top dollar, and even then, nothing is guaranteed. Google, Instagram, Facebook and others are monopolizing the social media platform for profit and shadowing small entrepreneurs and businesses with continuous algorithm changes, resulting in obscuring the most exciting upcoming new talents of our time. It’s just another game, but at the expenses of who is trying to emerge fairly.

What is your typical day?

You can’t take the Italian out of me because I like to have my breakfast in outside cafes. I usually go to Le Pain Quotidian because they have great vegan choices and everything is organic, including the coffee! While there, I check my emails and post on Instagram. My day varies each time. I have to prioritize everything, arrange various things, organizing, designing, sourcing materials, timing, making things by hand, and also be able to foresee obstacles and future complications. I’m wearing many hats and this can be very exhausting.

In the past year, I’ve switched my priorities and focused more on activism and family than fashion. People think there is a big team behind the brand, but the reality is that it’s just me. For a few years, I had no life and worked extremely hard to build a brand from nothing with a strong product, philosophy and mission statement.

Fashion is a huge monster machine and it’s impossible to do this all by yourself.

So now, I’m looking for an investor/partner that shares the same values and that is not afraid to disrupt, challenge, advocate a cruelty free lifestyle that is beautiful and glamorous, with dignity and integrity. “Compassion is fashion.” These are the words I wrote when I participated at my very first antifur protest in front of Blooming- dales and one of Pelush mantras along with #JointheReFAUXlution and Be Kind to Animals.

What is exactly #ReFAUXlution? (Manifesto)

The Fur Revolution (#ReFAUXlution) is an anti-fur movement, a fashion statement that stands behind the company philosophy by offering the best possible alternative to real fur and the defender of justice.

It’s the antidote to the fur industry.

#ReFAUXlution is about compassion and the reconnection to the animals and nature.

A Revolution of the heart, a new conscious awareness recognizing that animals matter morally; therefore, cannot be considered as property, objects, slaves or machines.

ReFAUXlution is about change, a commitment to be better human beings by rejecting all exploitation and injustice of nonhuman animals and human animals alike.

ReFAUXlution uses activism through fashion to promote veganism as the moral imperative of our time and a cruelty free lifestyle that is beautiful, luxurious and glamorous with dignity and integrity. It’s Fashion in Action.

Pelush mantra:

#ReFAUXlution #JointheReFAUXlution

Who, what and/or where inspires you? Personally, professionally or both?

I never have to look for inspiration - inspiration finds me, because it’s everywhere. Inspiration is an organic process, which comes naturally. Life is inspiring and anything can trigger the imagination and start the creative process.

But, I thrive the most when I’m in nature or when I travel. My love for beautiful things, art, architecture, couture fashion, textiles, textures, vintage jewelry, design, poetry, opera, classical music, old movies, other fashion designers.... and of course the animals, which are at the center stage of everything I do.

Personally, the people that inspire me the most have never been actors or singers. I admire knowledge and people with courage to act intelligently, speaking the truth and fighting all injustice. Right now, people like Ed Winters, Greta Thunberg, Dr. Neal Barnard, James Hansen, Matthew Kenney, and so many others, each of them in different fields, are literally changing the world, and human- ity desperately needs to change everything, the way we think, eat, buy, consume, our habits etc., or we won’t survive.

Do you have family in NYC?

I see my mother every day on Skype. I’m from Milan Italy, and all my family lives there.

I live in New York City with my wonderful husband who is American, and have a little long hair chihuahua named Choco, who is also the Pelush mascot. Europe is my favorite place to visit, and my dream is to show the collection in Paris one day.

What are your plans for the future?

Being a vegan and knowing about the detrimental environmental impact that fashion has on the environment, sometimes I skip a season, especially spring/ summer which is not my specialty, even though, I would like to do a beautiful summer collection that is easy and practical with organic soft materials. The more things we make, the worse it is for the planet. Fashion is an ecological disaster, and the market is completely saturated with clothing that nobody needs. The whole entire system should be changed and come up with a new formula. Fashion houses and designers should make only two seasons per year, not four or six, and we should stop making continuous fashion like fast fashion that is choking the Earth and ends up in landfills. We also need to change our perception of fashion. To make clothes is very expensive and when we buy something cheap, we are directly responsible of exploiting people, communities and resources, supporting child labor and garment workers in factories around the world most of whom are women. Displaced migrants are often poorly paid, and work in sweatshop-like conditions. In addition to exploitive practices, the $2.5 trillion fast fashion industry is one of larg- est global users of water and a significant contributor to the abrupt climate crisis. https://pelush.com

Activism is especially important to me and I use fashion as a tool to spread awareness and education about animals used for fashion. It’s fashion in action, or as a call it, a # ReFAUXlution Live with purpose and live with urgency because the outcome of the future depends on the choices we make today.