CNMI’s Fashion Hub Features Poignant Discussions, New Designers

Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) and the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) have renewed their partnership for the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards. The awards, which were presented on Sept. 24 in Milan at the close of fashion week, recognized circular fashion leaders and emerging designers.

Italian luxury fashion brand Gucci won the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Award for Circular Economy. Finalists for that award included Chloé and ACS Clothing – who were also recognized for making progress toward a circular economy for fashion apparel.

The Bicester Collection Award for Emerging Designers went to Ahluwalia with So-Le Studio and Made for a Woman named as finalists. Partners for the Sustainable Fashion Awards were Certilogo, Ginori 1735 and Consorzio Franciacorta. The CNMI also presented a new edition of The Fashion Hub this year featuring discussions, new designers and displays with the support of sponsors such as Salesforce, Mastercard, DHL and others.

Finding Purpose

Regarding the context for the awards, organizers said the fashion industry is reevaluating its narrative from a long-term value creation perspective. “It is gradually moving towards stakeholder-focused approaches, aiming to align its operations and outputs with planetary boundaries and the social needs of a world impacted by climate change, biodiversity loss, excessive use of natural resources, inequality, and conflict,” they said in statement, adding that the awards help cultivate support from a broader range of industry stakeholders while answering the fundamental question of the fashion industry’s purpose.

Simone Cipriani, head and founder of the Ethical Fashion Initiative and Chair of the U.N. Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, said the awards “symbolize a collective effort to address all systemic issues related to sustainability. Through collective action, we are generating a new kind of value — one that extends far beyond the realms of investors and businesses, benefiting a multitude of stakeholders.”

Cipriani said this value “embodies a process of long-term value creation that is reshaping the very purpose of the industry. Governance structures are poised to evolve in response to this transformative change, offering greater voice and agency to stakeholders.”

To help in this quest for purpose and greater circularity, the CNMI and EFI said they are “committed to supporting a transition by implementing a set of management tools on ESG due diligence and reporting. These tools have been specifically developed to facilitate the industry’s pursuit of purpose-driven practices, and they have been formulated based on international legislation and guidelines on responsible business.”

Be the Change

Leading by example of this transformation of the industry while defining its purpose is Gucci, the winner of this year’s Ellen MacArthur Foundation Award for Circular Economy.

Gucci was recognized for its work to create high-quality garments that align with a circular economy as well as the luxury brand’s ongoing commitment to using materials that are grown in a way that supports the natural environment. Award organizers said Gucci’s “Denim project” set a high bar “for incorporating regeneratively-grown cotton in its denim collections in partnership with Regenagri®-certified Algosur farm in Spain, combined with post-consumer recycled fibers collected and re-spun in Italy.”

The project also leverages technology that traces the raw materials used through to the end product and includes product care and repair information.

“In the world of fashion, our vision of a circular economy is one where products are used more, are made to be made again, and are produced from safe and recycled or renewable inputs,” said Andrew Morlet, CEO of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. “We’re delighted to see top players in the global fashion industry – winner Gucci and finalists Chloé and ACS Clothing – embrace these circular economy principles in their products and through redesigning entire business models.”

Morlet acknowledged that transforming the fashion system will not happen overnight. “But collaboration across the industry from the design of future products to the processes, services, supply chains and business models that will deliver them and keep them in use, gives us hope that a circular economy for fashion can become the norm,” the CEO said.

Jean-François Palus, CEO of Gucci, said the brand was proud to receive the award, and said that building scalable collaborations “is a vital part of Gucci’s strategy and the ‘Denim project’ is an example of combining the many strengths of the House’s supply chain partners and leveraging innovative tech to enhance circular economy principles.”

Meanwhile, finalist Chloé, who is a participant of the foundation’s Jeans Redesign project, “demonstrated how it was possible to implement changes on a major scale, making 90 percent of its jeans portfolio circular in design, using durable, traceable, safe and recycled materials in the garments.” Finalist ACS Clothing “was short-listed for its efforts to keep clothing in use,” award organizers noted. The company offers services to its partners that include rental, repair, resale and fulfilment to make garments last longer.

Showcasing Emerging Talent

This year’s winner of The Bicester Collection Award for Emerging Designers, Ahluwalia, was presented the award by host Sabrina Impacciatore along with Carlo Capasa and Chiara Ferragni. Ahluwalia, launched in 2018, has garnered attention for pioneering new sustainable solutions and approached. “By utilizing vintage, recycled, upcycled, and sustainable fabrics and garments, Ahluwalia creates pieces led by design but always made responsibly,” award show organizers said. “The label seamlessly blends elements from Priya Ahluwalia’s dual Indian-Nigerian heritage with her London roots.”

From here, brand founder Priya Ahluwalia will receive long-term support to further grow her business, which includes access to The Bicester Collection’s bespoke mentorship program and the opportunity to be in the next Creative Spot pop-up boutique.

Ahluwalia said being environmentally and socially conscious “is important to myself and everyone at Ahluwalia. It was key to the foundations of the brand and as we develop, we endeavor to learn more, listen more and ultimately act more. Receiving this award is a huge honor and reaffirms that our work has been meaningful and that anything is possible, regardless of your background or the industry’s current status quo.”

Award finalist So-Le Studio is a Milan-based jewelry brand that was founded by Maria Sole Ferragamo “and born from her passion for craftsmanship and sustainability. SO-LE STUDIO creates unique jewelry using upcycled leather and brass leftovers from Italian luxury brands and manufacturers.”

Made For A Woman, the second award finalist, is described as an innovative social entrepreneurship project empowering women from vulnerable backgrounds and promoting female craftsmanship in Madagascar. Made For A Woman was founded in 2019 by Eileen Akbaraly, who is a young Italian-Indian designer who grew up in Madagascar.

Partnering with CNMI on this award was Value Retail Management. Desirée Bollier, Chair and Global Chief Merchant for the company, said Ahluwalia “is already making an impact on our industry – representing the next generation of iconic London fashion with her celebration of diverse cultural heritage, innovative design, and commitment to the planet. All three finalists are incredibly exciting new voices in fashion, and their talent and convictions speak to a promising future for our industry and our world.”

Carlo Capasa, chairman of the CNMI said The Bicester Collection “aligns perfectly with CNMI’s vision for a more environmentally conscious and socially responsible fashion landscape, supporting emerging designers in this journey and allowing them to spread their talent.” Through the partnership with the CNMI for the past five years, The Bicester Collection fostered the career journeys of 18 Italian and international designers, thereby “contextualizing the Collection’s commitment to championing talent and delivering positive impact socially, economically and environmentally.”

The Bicester Collection, which operated by Value Retail, is composed of 11 distinctive shopping destinations across Europe and in China is defined by offering “extraordinary experiences while offering remarkable value.”

Sustainable Fashion Awards: Key Partnerships

Certilogo’s partnership with CNMI involved collaborating on the creation of the SFA book captures the latest edition of the event while gathering the stories of its protagonists, the company said adding that, for the first time, the book was printed in 2,500 copies and gifted to event participants.

But there was a digital twist with this year’s edition. Certilogo included a QR code on the cover thereby transforming it into a digital touchpoint that allows readers to access an in-depth platform created in collaboration with CNMI, which contains special and exclusive multimedia content. The content included an unpublished video by Carlo Capasa, president of the CNMI.

Michele Casucci, General Manager and Founder of Certilogo, said the company is excited to support companies investing in sustainability “and new circular economy models through digital innovation and sharing with the fashion community the unique creativity and craftsmanship behind each product.”

Casucci noted that the company works alongside brands “to protect and support the entrepreneurial community of ‘Made in Italy’ and, more broadly, the Fashion and Luxury sector in its journey towards circularity.”

Certilogo, founded in 2006, is a cutting-edge SaaS platform that uses artificial intelligence to instantly verify the authenticity of a products as well as access content, information, and services offered by brands. The company supports brands via building consumer trust by leveraging product digitalization. Casucci’s initial goal was to mitigate the distribution of counterfeit products by using technology to verify the authenticity of a product and do it “simply, reliably, and instantly.”

 Ginori 1735’s partnership with the CNMI involved embellishing the tables at the SFA’s gala dinner with the black and scarlet settings of the Catene (Chains) and Labirinto (Labyrinth) services.

“A clever blend of craftsmanship and Italian sense of beauty, Catene and Labirinto were designed by Giò Ponti, who was artistic director at the company from 1923 and 1933,” the company said. “They combine lines and geometrical shapes, alternating intersections and spaces and giving the collections a truly contemporary feel.”

Ginori 1735 said its partnership with the CNMI “was a spontaneous decision driven by the strong sense of sustainability that is a fundamental part of Ginori’s identity.” For its part, the company is working to significantly reduce energy consumption in its production process as well as recycle waste porcelain while strongly limiting the number of heavy metals used in decorations that may come into contact with food.

Alain Prost, chairman and CEO of Ginori 1735, said the company was proud “to be at the side of CNMI on the occasion of The Sustainable Fashion Awards 2023 in order to promote the values of social, environmental, and economic responsibility while enhancing the greatest Italian savoir-faire in craft and art.”

Consortium Franciacorta’s partnership with CNMI, now in its 11th year, involves being the official wine. Silvano Brescianini, President of the Consorzio, said being “a partner of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana is a great reason of pride for Consortium Franciacorta, and what’s more it represents a good opportunity to reinforce even more our common values and distinctiveness.”

Brescianini said the Franciacorta shares with the Italian fashion brands “creativity and craftsmanship, top qualities that provide our products with uniqueness, elegance, and excellence: the distinctive ingredients of Made in Italy in the world.”

Brescianini went on to say that Franciacorta represents a wine “that is the expression of a magnificent territory, where producers work every day to guarantee a unique product, exactly as happens in fashion.”

And aside from elegance and high quality, Consortium Franciacorta said the partnership with the CNMI is based on a shared commitment to sustainability. “This was further emphasized during a joint opportunity for discussion held last May, when the sustainability managers of the main fashion brands were hosted at the headquarters of the Franciacorta Consortium,” the company said. “This meeting marked an important step forward in the promotion of sustainable Italian style, starting a discussion on sustainability issues, on which both have been working in a structured way for over ten years.”

The Fashion Hub

The CNMI also showcased a new edition of the Fashion Hub, which is a meeting place spotlighting innovative projects open to the city of Milan as well as the general public.

Supporting the project were the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Co-operation and the Italian Trade Agency. The Fashion Hub was held at the Palazzo Giureconsulti, a prestige venue located in the heart of Milan. The Fashion Hub hosted a series of initiatives and activities aimed at promoting emerging brands and designers while they met with key players in the fashion industry.

“The projects featured in this edition of the Fashion Hub are Designers for the Planet, A Global Movement to Uplift Underrepresented Brands, Birimian Collective and MFW Forward.

Designers For The Planet involves eight brands that base the production of their collections on sustainability principles,” organizers said.

The designers were picked by a technical panel that chaired by Carlo Capasa, President, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, and made up of Beppe Angiolini, Founder & Owner of Sugar, Francesca Busi, Fashion Content Creator, Tassili Calatroni, Photographer, Ramona Tabita, Fashion Stylist and Veronica Tonini, CEO and Vice-president, ARB SBPA.

The eight participants selected for this edition are Escvdo, FELIPE FIALLO, Liwen Liang, OK KINO, PAIRI DAEZA, Trashy Clothing, VIAPIAVE33 and Young n sang. The brand FATRA, in collaboration with WAMI, is the project’s Special Guest.

In addition, A Global Movement To Uplift Underrepresented Brands was featured. This is a project of CNMI in collaboration with Teneshia Carr, who is editor-in-chief of Blanc Magazine. The project is designed “to promote multiculturalism in the fashion industry by giving underrepresented designers visibility and business opportunities, the aim being to foster a culture based on the appreciation of diversity and inclusion,” organizers said adding that the designers chosen for this edition of the project will be BruceGlen, eliEls and Orange Culture.

Meanwhile, Birimian Collective Ventures, which is a financial institution supporting emerging designers inspired by African crafts and heritage, presented the Birimian Collective project done in collaboration with CNMI. The project showcased Chez Nous, Lafalaise Dion and Renwa. The designers showed their collections during the entire Fashion Week and got to network with industry leaders.

MFW FORWARD was another project of the Fashion Hub that involved designers who were “chosen for their focus on research, innovation and experimentation in relation to new trends and cultural change,” event organizers said, adding that the brands showing their collections were Ara Lumiere, Ascend Beyond, Endelea, Futuro Remoto, NKWO, San Andres Milano and Sake.

“Inside the Fashion Hub,” which is a room dedicated to Scalapay and hosted a selection of items from Artknit Studios, ACBC and Lil Milan. The collections responded to the question “What does sustainability mean for you?”

Another room at the Fashion Hub was dedicated to Fantabody X Dhl Express, which is a project that bases its creative process on aspects of sustainability and inclusivity. Here, a capsule collection of three looks produced by Fantabody exclusively for DHL was shown.

And for a second time, the Sala Parlamentino at Palazzo Giureconsulti hosted Educational Talks on various themes and topics by foundations, companies and associations. The aim was to “inform and educate, provoke thought and share experiences,” event organizers said. Topics ranged across sustainability, forests, nature, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, media and entertainment, crafts and cultural change.”

The talks also included “Fashion Archives: looking back to move forward,” which was a conversation with Stefano Tonchi and Daniela Hamaui on the occasion of the launch of Archivio N°9; The new fashion industry.

“Fashion archives are like all archives always open to different interpretations and the value of each object, garment and document is in the eyes of the beholder, dictated by the time we live in,” said Stefano Tonchi, Guest Editor-in-Chief, ARCHIVIO. “And because fashion always documents the present there is never an end in collecting and updating a collection. Fashion archives are always changing, creating new narratives and relationships, always moving. They are living archives.”

Also showcased was strategies and models for a plural, fair and inclusive fashion, which was curated by Marilena Umuhoza Delli and Sambu Buffa and presented by the Academy of Anti-racism in collaboration with WAMI. And the second edition of the talk Fashion for Planet Open Parliament was presented by Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto.

The Fashion Hub also held a presentation of the Podcast Sailor. Anatomia del corpo attraverso la moda (Sailor. Anatomy of the body through fashion), was produced in collaboration with Storielibere. The podcast mapped out the new geographies of bodies and clothes by weaving together the words of leading players in Italian fashion in dialogue with Maria Luisa Frisa and Chiara Tagliaferri.

Other talks were presented by Salesforce, Asahi Kasei, Certilogo, Avatr, Scalapay and Mastercard.

Michele Casucci, GM and founder of Certilogo, discussed the “DIGITAL PRODUCT PASSPORT – How to do it and turn an obligation into a business opportunity.” The discussion was on the future of fashion and the technological know how that must accompany its development.

Scalapay CEO Simone Mancini presented a session titled, “Scalapay and the future of digital payment,” which addressed prospects and brand partners with the aim of supporting emerging talents and dialoguing with the fashion system.

Salesforce discussed how media and entertainment businesses “can boost the engagement of their publics and identify potential growth opportunities and areas for improving internal efficiency aided by technologies that use artificial intelligence and data to integrate, automate and personalize all interactions with customers across all channels,” the company said.

It’s important to note that Salesforce’s work with the CNMI is key as the fashion industry continues to evolve and “Made in Italy” takes on more global significance in an era of greater digital convergence. Maurizio Capobianco, Area Vice President of Salesforce, praised the partnership “because we know that with the great strides Italy is making in the huge world of digital commerce, we can do a lot to renew a sector as important to our country’s economy as luxury, pushing it to promote increasingly exclusive and personalized shopping experiences for customers, making the most of the right means of digitalization to guarantee only the best, and learning to seize every opportunity at the most.”