Wearing a biker jacket, without hurting sentient beings and the planet, it is possible with Poétique Paris which revisits iconic pieces of women’s wardrobe in 100% vegan and cruelty free alter-leather. Interview with the co-founder of this French brand, Pauline Weinmann.

By Ludmilla Intravaia

Le Boudoir Numérique : On your website, you talk about your conception of the fashion of the future, explaining that it is not "putting a drone remote control in your sleeves, but offering pretty alternative to leather". What do you mean by that ?

Pauline Weinmann, co-founder of Poétique Paris : When creating our brand, a year and a half ago, we started from the observation that the fashion industry, and in particular the leather sector, is polluting and cruel and that the fashion of the future is, in the first place, wanting to do better, in a way that is more respectful of human beings, animals and the planet. Working in this way is already, in itself, an innovation. But for us, it goes further, since our cruelty free and eco-responsible challenge has been to replace animal leather with new innovative materials, incorporating eco-sourced and recycled plants. Many alternatives to animal skins exist such as Piñatex (material based on cellular fibers extracted from pineapple leaves, AN), wine leather, cork leather or even those that we favor for our collections, namely appleskin, made with apple wastes from fruit juice factories and alter-grain leather, recycling cereal waste, both from Italy. And overall, beyond the alter-leathers, our fabrics and supplies are 100% recycled.

What about the manufacturing conditions of your clothes ?

They must also be respectful. We value local know-how with a made in France confection, in two ethical workshops. Our Île-de-France workshop is part of a responsible approach, through the upcycling of fabrics, the recovery of machines and the respect of decent working conditions. Our workshop in Calais aims to reintegrate women into the work world, by upgrading professional skills, related to textiles and sewing.

You revisit iconic pieces of the wardrobe, without using animal materials. Why did you choose this cruelty free, 100% vegan way ?

We want to make beautiful clothes and offer strong pieces, like a perfecto style jacket in leather, for example, without having to be ashamed of the abominable suffering hidden behind it, for all sentient beings on the planet. For example, the majority of hides today are tanned in developing countries and mainly in Bangladesh, where chromium VI, a highly toxic tanning agent, is handled unprotected and released directly into the groundwater, drastically reducing people's life expectancy.

In terms of animal protection, you benefit from the PETA label - approved Vegan from this association for the defense of animal rights…

Absolutely. This label helps consumers to identify ethical brands that do not support the exploitation of animals (more information on PETA website, AN). Consciousness is awakening on the animal mistreatment generated by the leather trade. There is really a lack of transparency on this matter, on its origin, its traceability and the general public is realizing it more and more. PETA notes in particular that the majority of the leather produced in the world comes from China, where, in addition to cows, sheeps and other animals, cats and dogs are killed for their skins, in extremely cruel conditions (for more info, read this analysis of the leather industry on PETA website, AN). The way of consuming fashion is changing because people are more and more demanding eco-responsible products that are respectful of sentient beings. It started in food, cosmetics. And we come to it in fashion. This is why our products meet a real need from consumers.

Precisely, even if they feel concerned by the problem of leather, the consumer sometimes gets lost between the different names, such as vegetable - tanned leather, vegan leather, etc. At Poétique Paris, you talk about alter-leather ... Can you enlighten us on this subject ?

Vegetable – tanned leather is made by vegetable tanning of animal skin (with organic materials and natural tannins derived from plant agents, bark, wood, roots, leaves, fruits, AN), without chemicals, such as chromium, for example. It’s more environmentally friendly but it’s still animal leather. The term vegan leather is often used in the media to define non-animal hides. But as leather is a controlled designation that can only apply to animal skins, this term did not seem appropriate to us, especially since it does not necessarily guarantee the responsible nature of the materials, like for instance artificial leathers (synthetic leather obtained by coating a textile surface with a layer of plastic, AN). So we wanted to find a new word. We have set our sights on the term alter-leather, which suits us well because we want to shake up the leather industry in a disruptive way with a respectful and innovative alternative.

What is the share of innovation in your work ?

We help our suppliers to develop materials that meet our needs, in order to create desirable products for our customers. When we launched Poétique Paris, we did a market study of available materials, in particular for a perfecto type model, our “biker” jacket, for which the alter-grain leather used in the rest of the collection was not suitable. To make it, we chose scraps of vegan leather rolls, without animal material but which remained synthetic, plastic. The biker jacket having been a success, we told ourselves that we had to manage to work with a recycled vegetable base, for our next production of this model. We got down to the task, in collaboration with our supplier who succeeded in creating a new material, developed on the basis of that in cereals used for our shorts and skirts, but adapted to the specificities of the biker jacket. Designing alternatives to leather today is a long-term task which is a real challenge, if only because consumer expectations are very high.

Expectations, in terms of rendering of the material, for example ?

With a perfecto type jacket, we expect a certain flexibility, a certain fit, in short a specific feeling or touch, which we are used to. In the act of buying, people are less lost if they are offered a product that looks like what they already know. I have no doubt that one day the alternatives to leather will have their own touch, their own characteristics but for now, we are not there yet. This is why, in fashion, new leather replacement materials are still trying to imitate it. It's a little different with accessories, for example shoes, where you can have a little more fun with the materials. But with a biker jacket, you have to be able to bend your elbows ... You have no choice.

Is this the reason why vegetal materials, alternatives to leather, are still coated with plastic for instance ?

Yes, these materials are partly vegetal, partly synthetic, to get as close as possible to the properties of traditional leather. But obviously, we are working every day to increase the share of the most vegetal, responsible and recycled materials. Thus, our last piece of pants is 60% recycled, with a water-based resin coating, solvent-free. Before, we were solvent-low, now we are solvent-free. Even if the 100% green does not yet exist, little by little, each innovation is an opportunity to improve.

How do you see the future of Poétique Paris ?

Ultimately, we will become more involved in the research and development of new materials, while continuing to inform the public about eco-responsibility. Our goal is to open up to as many people as possible, so that a client who ony swears by animal leather could be surprised by our alter-leathers and seduced by our models. What we want is to make beautiful and responsible fashion and take our customers with us on this journey.

* The Poétique Paris website is here.

* Le Boudoir Numérique met Pauline Weinmann, on the occasion of the first edition of Impact, an event dedicated to eco-responsible fashion at the Parisian trade show Who’s Next. The next edition of Impact and Who’s Next will take place from January 17 to 20, 2020, at Porte de Versailles Exhibition Center in Paris. Who’s Next website is here.

* To find out more about Impact, read the interview with Frédéric Maus, CEO of WSN, the company organizing the event, who takes stock of this first edition, in this Boudoir Numérique paper : "Collaborative digital tools can help sustainable fashion".