GCFA, Italia 2020: All The Highlights from the Green Carpet Fashion Awards
See all the highlights from the pioneering 2020 edition of the Green Carpet Fashion Awards, Italia – from the world’s first Digital Green Carpet; to the powerful opening monologue by Sophie Okonedo, and appearances from Colin Firth, Nomzamo Mbatha, Maisie Williams, Iman, Cate Blanchett and Lewis Hamilton.
This weekend, the world was invited to virtually attend the premiere of the Green Carpet Fashion Awards, Italia, 2020 hosted Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI), in collaboration with Eco-Age, and with the support of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Trade Agency (ITA). While the event couldn’t take place live in Milan as it has done for the past three years, instead for 2020 Milan’s iconic Teatro alla Scala was transformed into a virtual terrarium where this year’s awards were reinvented to celebrate exceptional individuals and companies that have transformed the possibilities of fashion this year.
Revisit all of the highlights from this year’s very special GCFA, Italia
The Preparation
After months of preparation, this year’s Green Carpet Fashion Awards showcased a pioneering combination of technology and creativity. Directed by Grammy-nominated Giorgio Testi and produced by Emmy Award winner Pulse Productions, the ground-breaking digital experience, designed by NorthHouse, combined cinematic footage with a fusion of augmented reality and visual FX.
Getting Ready
While guests were not able to walk the physical green carpet, which in previous editions has been created by Aquafil using ECONYL® regenerated nylon; guests from all over the world still took to the occasion to share their very best sustainable looks before uniting on the first digital green carpet.
Above: Regina King shows us how to make green carpet dressing work at home as she steps out in sustainable style.
Below: Ellie Goulding wears a custom Green Carpet Challenge look adorned with Gemfields Zambian emeralds by Ralph and Russo as she steps onto the digital green carpet. The look is finished with jewellery by Chopard.
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The Green Carpet Fashion Awards, Italia 2020
On Saturday 10th October 2020, the Green Carpet Fashion Awards premiered on Sky and YouTube around the globe.
In the first of many highlights of the night was a moving opening monologue by actress Sophie Okonedo, which served to remind us that while “these are difficult days marked by urgent warnings from the natural world,” we are all connected – “held together by the thread of our shared humanity” – and together we can make a change.
“We’ve witnessed a worn out world catch fire, and a pandemic take life everywhere it goes. We’re seeing with new clarity the ever-present effects of systemic racism,” she said.
“Fashion is a powerful portrait of this thread at work, weaving its way around the world. It’s a story of beauty, which is too often enabled by slave labour, pollution and waste. Tonight, we recognise those who choose to disrupt it: the innovators. The ones who are tirelessly working to refashion the world into something new. Together they prove that we still have time to heal what is broken; we can grow without having to cause damage. We can create something better, and we can create it now.”
In one of the most powerful moments of the night, Tashka Yawanawa, chief of the Yawanawa People, sent a message from the Amazon rainforest:
“We need to think about the future- what are we going to leave for the future generations. Today indigenous people live with a lot of struggle to protect the land, to protect nature, not just for themselves but for the whole world, because we are all connected. Whatever we do, we affect each other. For this reason, each of us can do our part, to make a difference.”
The theme of the event centred around togetherness and rebirth, with Brit Award-winning singer Celeste giving a spell-bounding performance of her song ‘I can see the change’.
“Fashion as a word standing alone like that is quite a statement in itself,” she said. “For me, what it is about really is recognising who you are and using clothes to invent myself and invent a character and show people who I truly am.”
Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte delivered a special message to audiences, before Italy’s thousands of artisans were announced as the winners of this year’s Art of Craftsmanship Award.
“Our country’s rich heritage is enshrined in an intricate web of artisanal skills and handcrafting,” said Prime Minister Conte. “This is the foundation of our resilience and sustainability.
“And tonight we remind ourselves, and the rest of the world, of these values that we hold precious. At this moment in history, there is one clear way forward: justice and equality. This is the message of tonight’s celebration and I commend and congratulate all who are honoured here tonight. Your values and your tireless efforts to build an ethical and sustainable future will stand as a model all over the world.”
At the end of the show, Lewis Hamilton also made an appearance, saying: “It’s powerful to know that if we used fashion as a lens through which to look at the world, then we know the clothes we are going to wear from now on will have to carry very different stories.
“Now we can see what can be achieved when we come together and we can draw strength from these examples of hope and purpose to see our lives as part of something much bigger than ourselves.”
And with incredible technology on display at this year’s awards, Pulse Films Italia worked with presenter of The Art Of Craftsmanship Award Colin Firth to create this short film ‘Holograms’, in which the actor contemplates the process of being transformed into a Hologram for the event thanks to ARHT Media.