by Emma Grady,


Today in Brooklyn, New York vegan fashion label Vaute Couture opens the doors to its flagship boutique. The label is celebrating their arrival to Williamsburg with a sample sale from 12-6pm and up to 70% off their vegan winter coats loved by the likes of Alicia Silverstone, Emily Deschanel, and Ally Sheedy.

Earlier this week, TreeHugger got a sneak peek at a private launch party, here’s a look inside the brick-and-mortar store that boasts green design, reclaimed materials, and everything from a mantle from Lady Gaga’s Barneys exhibit to mannequins from Abercrombie & Fitch.

Step inside the lovely boutique, located at 234 Grand Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and you’ll soon get a sense of the designer’s ethos: like her store, Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart is vegan to a T. From the t-shirt adorning a mannequin—salvaged from Abercrombie & Fitch no less—in the windows with a printed a slogan that reads “I can’t even look at you in that fur” to the entirely vegan line of vibrant and colorful winter coats, it’s clear that while you’re welcome in the store, your fur is not.

Almost everything in the store is salvaged. The wardrobes and their photobooth—you can snap a picture and bring it home with you—were made with old doors from BuildItGreen; their cash wrap came from its former home at Barneys New York as part of the Lady Gaga exhibit, the lockers were once used in a school, and the paint is leftover, too.

At the sample sale today, there will be free sweets, free hugs, and a preview of their new Spring 2012 collection, which introduces printed dresses, overalls, and jumpers made with organic cotton, recycled materials, and hemp denim, according to the press release. You might want to take Mai-ly Hilgart up on the hug offer since she—like her shop— is as cute as a button.

(Source: www.treehugger.com )