While 2020 marks the inaugural digital green carpet, it’s the fourth year of the Green Carpet Fashion Awards (GCFA) – an annual event celebrating fashion houses’ commitment to sustainability.
In collaboration with specialist sustainability and communications agency Eco-Age, and with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, as well as the Italian Trade Agency, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (National Chamber for Italian Fashion in Italian) invited the world to attend the awards ceremony. It was filmed at Milan’s famous Teatro alla Scala opera house – which was transformed into a virtual terrarium – and broadcast during Shanghai Fashion Week.
Awards were revamped to honour exceptional individuals and companies that have transformed the possibilities of fashion this year. Chinese singer-actress Chris Lee received the Asia Changemaker Award in an embroidered Gucci number, while American actress-singer Zendaya clinched this year’s GCFA Visionary Award. She accepted it virtually in a vintage Versace column gown adorned with intricate beading and Medusa hardware on the slim shoulder straps. She opted for the archive design from Autumn/Winter 1996 (her birth year) to make a statement on sustainability.
Another attendee was German model Anna Ewers, the face of Max Mara’s Autumn/Winter 2020 ad campaign. She wore an archive tuxedo look comprising a short wool blazer with silk details and wool pants that Creative Director Ian Griffiths chose from the brand’s seminal 1989 runway collection. That was the first time the brand delved into tuxedos, and it is now one of its key styles.
Chinese model-actress Chen Ran wore a vintage Miu Miu evening gown made from an original ’30s creation with a sequinned collar. Victorian silk duchesse sleeves were customised with crystal embroidery.
British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding’s couture gown was a collaboration between Ralph & Russo and Gemfields, a world-leading supplier of African coloured gemstones mined under stringent social and environmental standards. The one-of-a-kind gown was decorated with over 150 responsibly sourced Zambian emeralds.
Up-and-coming American actor Parker Sawyers was dressed in Ermenegildo Zegna XXX. The three-piece double-breasted suit is made from #UseTheExisting light Achill farm wool.
(Main and featured image: Zendaya in Versace)
