LONDON: Star actress Natalie Portman got her vegan wish from top designer Christian Dior with a new line of non-leather no animal product shoes. Portman has been raving about her new role as the face of Miss Cherie for Dior, saying that fashion and cosmetics can be made entirely vegan. The actress has been a major promoter of removing animals from clothing and shoes, even starting her own vegan shoe company. Portman, an avid vegan promoter, said last year that “Jonathan Safran Foer's book Eating Animals changed me from a twenty-year vegetarian to a vegan activist,” and wrote a long and impassioned justification of her veganism. She does not wear leather and animal derived products. In 2008 Natalie Portman launched her own line of shoes, after bemoaning the lack of vegan footwear on sale, and is often seen in Stella McCartney's vegan styles. In her press appearances for the film The Black Swan, Portman has alternated between McCartney accessories, and bespoke versions of shoes from the Dior main line range, which the designer remakes for her in animal free fabrics. She told WWD.com: “One of the things that's been so nice 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.” Here in London, animal rights activists and vegans across the city are cheering Portman's rise to the top of the vegan food chain, saying her role will have a major impact on young people as they choose their wardrobe. “We have seen in the past few years a number of big stars take on the role of vegan buyer and it always helps when someone as popular as Natalie gets her message out,” said Tanya Respin, a 28-year-old activist and vegan of four-years. She told Bikya Masr on Sunday that shopping has become “easier” as a result of actors and actresses taking the call to remove animal products from their accessories. BM
