Case Study: Vaute Couture achieves global growth for cruelty-free fashion with Shopify

The Unlikely Story of the Activist Who Shook up the Fashion World

Vaute Couture, founded by activist Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart, launched in 2009 with pre-orders and no physical product, no investors, and a mission to create beautiful, cruelty-free winter wear. The fashion ecommerce brand faced the challenge of proving demand for vegan apparel while building a business around ethical, local manufacturing and educating customers about why its products cost more than mass-market alternatives.

With Shopify supporting its ecommerce growth, Vaute Couture turned early customer faith into a scalable brand, using pre-sales, online sales, and organic search to build momentum. Over time, the company expanded into new product lines, added brick-and-mortar retail, and grew to ship worldwide; it also achieved major visibility as the first all-vegan label at New York Fashion Week and secured a Manhattan flagship store, with Shopify helping power the business as it scaled.

Vaute Couture