“If I can buy a handbag made from coffee, bamboo or cactus, why wouldn't I?” For Elke Steijns, this surprisingly simple question challenges one of luxury's oldest assumptions – that the finest handbags must begin with animal leather.
The Dutch entrepreneur is the founder of Vogaya, a new accessories label whose sleek bags are made entirely from plant-based materials. Vogaya was launched in February this year with just two styles: the Espressa structured shoulder bag is made of coffee grounds, while the roomy Bambote shopper is made from bamboo.
Yet, despite the environmental credentials, Steijns is careful not to present the brand as an exercise in virtue. “I did not design this handbag brand especially for vegans,” she says. “I want it to be for everyone.”
That distinction is important. Rather than positioning Vogaya as a more ethical alternative, she wants it to sit comfortably alongside the new generation of contemporary luxury brands, appealing first through design and craftsmanship, with sustainability arriving almost as a welcome surprise.
It was not always the plan. Having lived in Dubai for the past 13 years, Steijns says the city gave her the confidence to build a business that, elsewhere, might have seemed improbable. “I think Dubai is the place where anything is possible,” she says. “It's where the future gets built. What they're creating here, you don't really see anywhere else. This is a place of innovation.”
founder, Vogaya
The journey towards founding Vogaya came gradually rather than through a single, life-changing moment. “I've always loved animals,” she says. “Then one day it clicked that what I consume and what I wear should align.”
Switching to a plant-based diet proved straightforward. Finding high-quality accessories proved considerably harder. “Many of the brands I admired used animal leather,” she says. “I was looking for classic, timeless bags that are also sustainable in the sense that they will stay in fashion for 30, 40 years, and that you can carry if you are 20 or 60 years old.”
Well-established fashion houses have also dabbled in modern alternatives to leather. Gucci launched its first animal-free bag in 2023 in partnership with vocal vegan Billie Eilish. Danish brand Ganni has worked to phase out the use of virgin leather in favour of recycled leather, and versions made from grapes, oranges and cacti, while Hungarian house Nanushka has had a plant-based bag offering since 2006. Most famously, Stella McCartney champions vegetarian textiles, and has employed similar techniques to create mushroom and grape leather bags.
But these are few and far between, and finding high-quality options at accessible price points still proved a challenge. And most alternatives, Steijns discovered, relied heavily on plastic. They lacked both the tactile quality and longevity she associated with luxury. “I didn't just want to create something made from a sustainable material,” she says. “I wanted to create a genuinely sustainable product.”
That meant months researching next-generation biomaterials. Far from resembling the coarse plant fibres many consumers imagine, today's innovations can be engineered to replicate an extraordinary range of textures and finishes. “People assume pineapple leather always looks one way, or mushroom leather another,” she says. “But these materials can be developed into almost any finish.”
While Vogaya is headquartered in the UAE, manufacturing takes place in China – a decision born out of necessity rather than convenience. “My dream was to make everything in the UAE,” she says. “But the expertise simply isn't here yet. China has been working with these materials for much longer.”
Steijns has travelled to each factory herself to ensure working conditions are up to standard. “Being ethical isn't only about making sure no animals are harmed,” she says. “I don't want humans to be harmed, either.”
Choosing handbags as her first category was equally deliberate. “Handbags are one of luxury's greatest symbols,” she says. “They're objects people carry for years. They become part of their identity. I want carrying one of my bags to feel like a badge of honour.”
Changing perceptions, however, may prove harder than developing the materials themselves. “For decades we've been taught that leather equals quality,” she says. “Whenever I tell someone the bags are made from coffee leather, the first reaction is curiosity. The second is always: 'Is it durable?'”
It's a valid question. Leather resists puncture, bends without losing structural integrity and can last for decades, with aged leather having its own aesthetic appeal. But newer alternatives can replicate that.
“I've seen the laboratory testing, the strength tests. Now the products have to speak for themselves,” she says.
Pricing presents another hurdle. Plant-based materials remain expensive to produce, leaving brands such as Vogaya competing with leather goods at similar price points. The Espresso bag retails at Dh1,450, while the Bambote is Dh1,750, and these prices have been dictated by the research, she says. “These materials come from nature, harvested responsibly. Like any innovation, they cost more at first because production is still relatively small.”
Vogaya positions itself within the same contemporary luxury space occupied by labels such as Polene and DeMellier, but Steijns believes consumers increasingly understand that value cannot be measured purely by material. “You can't really put a price on the cost of an animal,” she says quietly. “People are so disconnected from the reality that their handbag, or even their sofa, once had a life.”
Still, she is wary of moralising. “It is a fine balance,” she admits. “I don't want to alienate people. I just launched the brand, and I'm still learning how to raise awareness without pushing people away.”
Instead, she hopes curiosity becomes the catalyst. “Maybe someone buys the bag because it's made from coffee and they think that's interesting,” she says. “Then perhaps the next time they're shopping they'll look differently at a traditional leather handbag. Maybe they'll pause for a second.”
That gentle approach reflects her own experience. “I haven't been vegan all my life,” she says. “I think the best way is to be supportive and simply show people kinder options.”
In luxury, however, heritage often matters as much as innovation. How does a young brand built on entirely new materials create the permanence associated with Europe's great maisons?
For Steijns, the answer has little to do with age. “By creating quality products,” she says simply. “I deliberately avoid trends. I don't want someone looking at one of my bags in two years and thinking: 'That's so 2026.' I want people to still be carrying them in 10 years because they're timeless.”
Already, she is looking beyond coffee and bamboo towards new biomaterials emerging from Saudi Arabia, including leather alternatives made from date waste, which are still in development but look promising.
For Steijns, however, the material itself is only part of the story. The larger question is what luxury should represent in the decades ahead.
“To me, luxury cannot come from cruelty,” she says. “If something comes from harm, how can it truly be beautiful?”
She pauses before offering what could become Vogaya's manifesto. “Kindness,” she says, “is the new status symbol.”
