Natalie Portman Brings No Leather to Dior
The actress is committed to animal protection
Superstar Natalie Portman, who has just accepted the role of Miss Cherie for Dior, brings a new philosophy to the fashion house: vegan footwear.
So far, the new fashions are simply shoes that are being made specially for her, since Portman wears no leather. But animal protection groups are hoping that her presence at Dior will inspire a more commercial interest in vegan fashion.
Last year, the actress commented that “Jonathan Safran Foer’s book Eating Animals changed me from a 20-year vegetarian to a vegan activist.” Today she refuses to wear any products derived from animals.
In 2008, Portman designed a line of vegan shoes for Té Casan, noting the lack of animal-friendly alternatives in the fashion world. But as the financial crisis took hold, the collection was dropped. Since then, she’s also been wearing custom-designed, animal-free versions of shoes from the Dior collection.
“One of the things that’s been so nice,” she told wwd.com, “is that Dior made all of the shoes for me with no animals and no leather or anything, because I don’t wear any leather…They re-made all my shoes so I can wear Dior shoes without taking lives.”
Natalie Portman with her earlier collection of vegan shoes for Té Casan.
Will Portman be able to convince Dior to make a full line of vegan-friendly shoes for consumers? She is expected to be with Dior for many years to come, and she’s strong-willed in her commitment to the animal protection cause.