GCFA, Italia 2020: The Sustainable Looks From The Digital Green Carpet

11/10/2020 | by Eco-Age

For the first virtual edition of the Green Carpet Fashion Awards, Italia, guests from all over the world were united on the digital green carpet in a shared commitment to sustainable fashion. Here are just a few of our favourite looks from the night.

For the past three years, the Green Carpet Fashion Awards has invited celebrities and designers alike to showcase their most innovative sustainable looks for a special ceremony at Milan’s La Scala Theatre. Yet with 2020 prompting us all to do things a little differently, this year saw guests from around the globe take on a particularly innovative way of showing their ethical attire to the world.

Ahead of Saturday’s virtual edition of the awards, leaders and disruptors within the industry came together on the first ever digital green carpet. Each shared videos revealing their chosen outfits for the night, and telling stories about the creation of and message behind what they were wearing. While Robert Downey Jr, Julianne Moore and Iman opted for the most treasured items from their wardrobes, Ellie Goulding, Iris Law, Matilda de Angelis and more worked with global luxury brands to create their sustainable looks for the night.

From historic Italian fashion houses Prada and Valentino to newer names such as Andrés Acosta and Stella Jean, designers rose to the challenge in true green carpet spirit, proving that the most striking of evening wear can be created without putting a strain on the Earth’s natural resources. Their creations showcased innovations in both materials and mindset; from gowns made with regenerated plastic, to dresses from archive collections being re-found and re-celebrated.

Below is a selection of just a few of our favourites. Head over to the digital green carpet to explore all the outfits from the night and watch the exclusive videos to learn more about each look.

Prada X Matilda de Angelis

Matilda de Angelis wears Prada on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

Matilda first wore Prada for the Green Carpet Challenge at the 2018 Green Carpet Fashion Awards – a beautiful repurposed organic silk look. This year, she is wearing a mid-length Re-Nylon cocktail dress made from Aquafil’s ECONYL® regenerated nylon yarn. The yarn is derived from a variety of plastic waste, from post-consumer carpets to marine plastic debris including ghost fishing nets, collected by initiatives such as Healthy Seas, winner of the 2019 GCFA Circular Economy award. This year, Prada’s GCC looks encapsulate the label’s goal of replacing all of its virgin nylon with recycled nylon by the end of 2021, joining the global fight against plastic waste by turning it into new high quality materials.

Andrés Acosta X Marta Ortiz

Marta Ortiz wears Andrés Acosta on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

Andrés is no stranger to the Green Carpet Challenge, and has created several unique Green Carpet Challenge looks that incorporate his love of sustainable fashion and the traditional handicrafts of his home, La Palma, Canary Islands. Marta’s dress is crafted from handwoven artisanal El Paso silk produced in La Palma. Protecting and promoting traditional handicraft is a key goal for the artisanal silk workshop, and every aspect of production is done by hand, from tearing the mulberry leaves to feed the silkworms, to spinning the yarns, and weaving the fabric.

Ralph and Russo X Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding wears a custom couture look by Ralph and Russo, adorned with Gemfields emeralds and paired with jewellery by Chopard on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

Ralph and Russo created a one-of-a-kind silk double satin gown in emerald green with an intricately layered bustier and symmetric over-the-shoulder cape fabric draping, which features over 150 Zambian emeralds from Gemfields – a world-leading supplier of responsibly sourced, African coloured gemstones – and reflects both brands’ passion for preserving an innate level of artisanal craftsmanship and detail. All Gemfields’ products have been mined under stringent social and environmental standards, supporting conservation, education, health and livelihoods projects. The bespoke dress, designed by Creative Director Tamara Ralph, was created in the Ralph and Russo London atelier, championing local production. Ellie’s look is completed with Chopard jewellery in Fairmined gold.

Missoni X Ester Acebo

Ester Acebo wears Missoni on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

Iconic Italian brand Missoni has appeared on the ‘green’ carpet at every single Green Carpet Fashion Awards event. This year, Ester Acebo wears a custom gown created from unique fabric that originally starred in Missoni’s Spring / Summer 2000 collection. The shimmering fabric has been in storage for over twenty years and the look elegantly encapsulates the mantra of the Green Carpet Challenge.

Valentino X Tomi Adeyemi

Tomi Adeyemi wears Valentino on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

This blazing orange wrap dress by Valentino features soft volant hems and is crafted from GOTS certified chiffon organza silk with components certified to be free from harmful chemicals by Oeko-Tex® 100 Standard. The gloves and sandals were selected from the Maison Valentino archives. Valentino’s visionary support of the Green Carpet Challenge began in 2012 with the iconic red gown worn by Livia Firth made from Newlife™ recycled polyester. For 2020 Valentino has dressed Tomi Adeyemi. She is the Hugo & Nebula award-winning author of the number one New York Times bestselling books and upcoming movies: Children of Blood and Bone + Children of Virtue and Vengeance. She is also recognised by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020.

Diesel x Yovanna Ventura

Yovanna Ventura wears Diesel on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

This Green Carpet Challenge look is an upcycled fusion of iconic Diesel silhouettes and bold, distinctive motifs. The long souvenir jacket has been reinvented as a dress and is covered in a collection of iconic embroideries from the past decades of Diesel, which depicts the brand’s story and heritage. The look features LENZING™ ECOVERO™ viscose and LENZING™ Tencel™ lyocell made from certified renewable wood sources.

Stella Jean x Tamara Pizzoli

Tamara Pizzoli wears Stella Jean on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

In true Stella Jean style, Tamara’s Green Carpet Challenge look is as conceptual as it is beautiful. The fabric is salvaged from deadstock mens shirting fabric, refashioned into a chemisier-dress. The brightly coloured floral placements are hand-painted and embroidered by Italian artisans working from home in Umbria, Marche, Abruzzo, and Latium. Advocating artisanal heritage craft is a firmly-rooted aspect of Stella’s label, with previous GCC looks showcasing traditional handwork from all over the world.

M Missoni X Iris Law

Iris Law wears M Missoni on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

This floor-length M Missoni gown features a bold illustrative print and is made from recycled polyester produced by Bonotto. The components are from existing Missoni stock and everything is sewn together using recycled polyester thread. Reusing existing materials and incorporating recycled fibres into designs materials helps combat global waste issues such as plastic pollution and waste caused by overconsumption.

Zegna x Parker Sawyers

Parker Sawyers wears Ermenegildo Zegna XXX on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

Parker Sawyers has fully embraced the Green Carpet Challenge by re-wearing an existing look that was originally made from recycled fibres. Zegna’s #USETHEEXISTING project recovers pre-consumer offcuts from Zegna’s manufacturing process and mechanically recycles them, without the use of chemicals, into new fabric. Offcuts from garment manufacturing are often discarded, resulting in a huge amount material and resource waste. Recovering these materials and giving them another life through recycling is an important way to make sure we don’t waste resources.

Miu Miu x Elisa Visari

Elisa Visari wears vintage Miu Miu on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

Elissa wears a vintage 1960s Miu Miu cocktail dress that has been refashioned for the digital Green Carpet Challenge with one-of-a-kind glass pearl and lead-free crystal embellishments. Wearing and even updating vintage clothing ensures that beautiful garments are kept in use, honoring and remembering the heritage and craftsmanship that went into their creation originally. As the environmental impact of fast fashion becomes increasingly evident, it is essential we celebrate what already exists.

Vivienne Westwood X Doina Ciobanu

Doina Ciobanu wears Vivienne Westwood on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

Inspired by erotic ‘image risqué’ postcards of the early 1930’s, the Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood Doris Day dress embodies a delicate sensuality. Fine grey wool drapes across the signature foundation corset, hinting that the wearer is seductively covered with just a bed sheet. The blended stretch wool was specially selected in collaboration with Wastemark, who source ‘forsaken’ fabrics from the finest Italian mills. It is not uncommon for mills to produce several meters of fabric without the guarantee that all fabric will be used, despite the cloth being perfectly functional and aesthetically correct. By collaborating with Wastemark, Vivienne Westwood aim to return these otherwise discarded fabrics to their true value, turning a material that has been erroneously labelled as ‘waste’ to a product of artistic and economical value.

Laura Strambi x Sonya Yoncheva

Sonya Yoncheva wears Laura Strambi on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

Sonya wears a full length Laura Strambi gown which is an ensemble of expert sartorial tailoring and striking draping techniques. This look illustrates the many ways that different forms of silk can be used and the range of effects that can be achieved using a single fibre. True to Green Carpet Challenge principles, the look has been made from certified organic silk.

Redemption x Alexis Ren

Alexis Ren wears Redemption on the digital green carpet for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards 2020.

Alexis wears archive Redemption for her first Green Carpet Challenge look, selected from one of the label’s past collections. The hand embroidered silk double breasted robe manteau was first worn in 2019 by French super model Cindy Bruna. Prolonging the life of existing garments is a key theme championed by the GCC, and doing so reduces the environmental impact with every re-wear. Redemption is committed to environmental and social responsibility through its Re|Set the Future strategy, addressing areas such as climate action and social impact.