An Interview with Sascha Camilli

We’re back with another Interview of the Month, and this month I’m incredibly honoured to feature the fabulous Sascha Camilli! I first heard about Sascha on social media after checking out the online vegan fashion magazine, Vilda, and started following her work. I later heard Sascha speak at a Bare Fashion event and knew I had to talk to her one day about her career in vegan fashion!

Sascha is a passionate animal rights advocate and even has a podcast called Catwalk Rebel where she discusses the hard topics in fashion such as animal cruelty, greenwashing, ageism and overconsumption. Not only does Sascha provide information about the realities of using animals for fashion, she also shows you the benefit of dressing vegan, and how to look good doing it! Read our interview together and find out more about Sascha’s career and what drives her to continue fighting for animal right’s and ethical fashion…

1.   I understand you went vegan at 29 (after being vegetarian since you were 11), what was it that changed the way you saw the animal agriculture industry?

I’ve always wanted to go vegan, since I found out what vegan was. But I’ve always thought that it was too difficult, or that I was doing “enough” by being a pescatarian and a vegetarian. But when I was 29, two things happened. Firstly, I read the book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. It completely broke me. I cried and cried. I still remember passages of that book, years later. It shook me to my core. Such an eye-opening, necessary read about animal agriculture.

Secondly, I got in touch with some vegans online - and they were so supportive and non-judgemental. They completely accepted my journey and showed me that it was not only possible to go vegan - it was easy! I’d credit Amy Rebecca Wilde, founder of vegan boutique Vegan Scene in Los Angeles, with helping me take that final step to transitioning to veganism. Her Instagram account @vegansofig had so much important information that helped me make the switch.

2.   What would you say was your biggest challenge you faced when transitioning to a completely vegan lifestyle?

Dealing with people’s reactions. I’ve always had a hard time with the idea that invasive questions about your lifestyle are “an opportunity to educate people”. I try to see it that way! But in reality, while transitioning, I just wanted to eat my food in peace, without having a debate every time I ate something. I wonder if this is why, now, most of my friends are other vegans. But I’ve been lucky - most of my close friends and family respect my lifestyle and are very accepting of it. They are even curious about vegan foods themselves - and I take every chance to show them how tasty vegan living can be!

3.   Tell us a bit about your career and what led you to starting up your own online magazine?

I have a background as a fashion journalist and copywriter, and for a long time I felt like a hypocrite while writing about calfskin shoes and cashmere sweaters. I didn’t want anyone to be buying these things, and I certainly didn’t want to be the one to advertise them! I have loved magazines since I was a little girl, and having my own magazine was a lifelong dream - and when I noticed how frustrated I was with the abundance of animal skins in traditional magazines, I connected the dots. It was time for a magazine for people like me - people who are interested in fashion and love personal style, but don’t want to wear animals.

In 2013 I applied for the Inspire & Mentor Scheme that Marie Claire magazine in the UK ran. They selected people with business ideas and paired them up with mentors who could help make their idea a reality. I was lucky to be chosen, which is how I got the advice and mentorship to start Vilda. Running the magazine has been a great adventure, and I will always consider it one of my most important accomplishments. I would love to run a magazine again in the future.

4.   Your online magazine, Vilda, is the world’s first digital vegan fashion magazine, helping to put vegan fashion at the frontline. What changes to the vegan fashion scene have you witnessed since launching the magazine?

In the six years I’ve run Vilda - from 2013 to its hiatus this year - the change in the fashion industry when it comes to a shift in attitude towards vegan fashion has been monumental. When I first launched the magazine, people wouldn't understand what I was talking about when I said “vegan fashion”. I got questions along the lines of “what do you mean, vegan fashion? Can you eat the clothes?”. These days, Hugo Boss and Chanel are using pineapple leather, Stella McCartney and H&M are using vegan silk, and we even have a Vegan Fashion Week! Big designer names like Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Burberry and Versace are going fur-free and we might soon have lab-grown leather on the market. It's an amazing time for vegan fashion.

5.   When I first veganized my wardrobe, I actually only had one piece of clothing that wasn’t vegan (a Moschino handbag), so I sold it on eBay as I knew I wouldn’t miss it. Do you believe we should get rid of any animal-based clothing/accessories when we go vegan, or keep them and get more use out of them?

I believe we have several options. We can certainly sell the clothing, like you did - I think that’s a great way to pass it on to someone who might get great use out of it. We can also donate it to a second-hand shop. Or - the final option, which I don’t see anything wrong with, is to simply keep the garments and get as much use out of them as we can. None of these options is wrong in my opinion. The only thing that’s wrong would be to throw away an item that’s still usable. Textile waste is a very urgent problem in the fashion industry, and it’s not very conscious or compassionate to contribute to it.

6.   Your book “Vegan Style” was the first of its kind to offer advice on vegan fashion, beauty, home and travel. What were your hopes for this book?

My aim was to create an inspirational resource for people who were interested in dressing vegan. I saw all these vegan books in bookshops - they were beautiful and appealing, but they were all about food. As if recipes and nutrition are the only aspect of veganism. There was no resource for animal-free fashion, so I wanted to create one.

7.   Sustainability has become so much more popular within the fashion industry over the past few years, what measures does vegan fashion have to take in order to keep up?

I believe that vegan fashion has to invest in creating and promoting alternatives to wool and wool-like fabrics such as mohair, cashmere, angora and alpaca. There has never been a better time to be leather-free - we are beginning to have countless plant-based alternatives for people who don’t want to wear leather. Leather can now be made from apples, pineapples, mushrooms, corn...but what about wool? There is innovation happening in the area of vegan knitwear, but more needs to be done. And it needs to be brought further into the mainstream and promoted more.

8.   Do you believe vegans have a responsibility to take part in animal rights activism, or should we all find our own ways of protecting the animals?

I believe we should all be activists. Look at the state of the world - how can you stay silent? I love the quote “Activism is the rent I pay for living on this planet”, by the fantastic Alice Walker. But activism looks different for different people. Activism doesn’t necessarily have to be taking part in street protests (although I do love a good protest!). It can mean spreading the word online, writing to policymakers, contacting companies and asking for change, or volunteering with activist organisations. Whatever you choose to do, whichever way you choose to make change, it matters. Find your voice, and don’t be afraid to use it.

9.   What would your advice be to someone newly vegan, looking to make their wardrobe cruelty-free?

Phase things out slowly. Don’t do that overhaul thing where you throw out your entire wardrobe and start anew. Read up on how to best replace animal-derived materials. Make informed choices. And try second-hand fashion - it’s a treasure trove just waiting to be discovered.

Check out Vilda Magazine on Instagram and Sascha’s personal account for more vegan fashion advice and inspiration!