IMAGINING SUSTAINABLE FASHION AWARD 2022

Connecting Cultures and C.L.A.S.S. launch the second edition of the international
competition for innovative models of communication in sustainable fashion.

After a successful award debut in 2021 Connecting Cultures and C.L.A.S.S. continue the fascinating journey towards the creation of new imagery and innovative models of communication in sustainable fashion. The international call to stylists, photographers, designers illustrators, artists and other creatives to rethink how to communicate the new generation of values of an ethical and sustainable fashion system has been renewed for 20 22 with the launch of the award’s second edition.
Imagining Sustainable Fashion Award is a collaboration between Connecting Cultures a non profit research agency spearheading the Out of Fashion platform, and C.L.A.S.S., the ecohub supporting fashion and textile industry professionals to become more competitive and accountable.

The award is committed to shining a spotlight on creatives from all over the world who are successfully communicating a sustainable fashion ethic through visual and audiovisual ima ges, be it through a single image, a collection of images, a video, or other means.

Proposals for traditional media such as editorial projects, fashion events, photography and advertising and new digital and phygital projects, from social media campaigns to gaming and even immersive and virtual experiences will all be accepted.

Award participants are invited to submit their projects to [email protected] by midnight on 12 January 2022 (additional details can be found on www.connectingcultures.it)

The ambassadors for the initiative are Iris Skrami CEO and Co founde r of Renoon the leading search tool and data hub for sustainable fashion, a rising start up of the year, aggregating +190 brands offering sustainable options to consumers, and Valentina Suarez co founder and general director of the Latin American sustainable fashion movement, Universo MOLA a program of the Foundation Entre Soles y Lunas.

“C.L.A.S. and Connecting Cultures have teamed up again to invite both young and established creative minds to submit proposals for the IMAGINING SUSTAINABLE FASHION Award 2022. After seeing the quality of the work submitted last year by participants from literally across the globe, we knew our award resonated with both industry veterans and emerging talent alike,” explained C.L.A.S.S. CEO and founder Giusy Bettoni. “Additionally, we had the crucial support of our sponsors, the momentum was there, and there was still so much left to explore. How could we not offer a second edition of the award?.”

“The competition is an opportunity to rethink how to communicate the new and different values of an ethical and sustainable fashion system,” explained Connecting Cultures Founder and President Anna Detheridge “I look forward to seeing all the proposals, but especially those from the younger generation and small
businesses. It is a pleasure to discover new creative talents that give sustainable fashion a bright and fresh image”.

“Imagining Sustainable Fashion is a competition of ideas and creativity, but it is also our way of challenging all those companies that have made investments, have innovated to achieve loftier ethical and responsible goals, but do not communicate them. It’s no longer enough to simply live these values, you must communicate them too,” observe Anna Detheridge and Giusy Bettoni. Last year’s Imagining Sustainable Fashion winner was a young woman named Emma Scalcon, at that time a student in her second year in Textile & Fashion Design at IAAD – Istituto d’Arte Applicata e Design. Her work, TAKE A WALK ON THE GREEN SIDE, ranked first among the finalists selected by a high profile jury that includes artists, fashion professionals, and marketing experts, all leading voices in the sustainable fashion industry. We are proud to announce that all the members of the original jury will once again be judging proposals and choosing the winner of the Imagining Sustainable Fashion Award for 2022:
· Anna Detheridge, Founder and President, Connecting Cultures
· Giusy Bettoni, CEO and Founder, C.L.A.S.S.
· Rita Airaghi, Director, Gianfranco Ferr é Foundation
· Paola Arosio, Head of New Brands Sustainability Projects, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (The National Chamber for Italian Fashion)
· Jeanine Ballone Managing Director, Fashion 4 Development
· Evie Evangelou, Founder and President, Fashion 4 Development
· Chiara Luisi, Sustainability Projects Coordinator, Cam era Nazionale della Moda Italiana (The National Chamber for Italian Fashion)
· Sara Kozlowski, Director of Education and Sustainable Strategies, Council of Fashion Designers of America
· Dio Kurazawa, Founding Partner, The Bear Scouts
· Renata Molho, journalist, former editor in chief of L’Uomo Vogue and e ditor at large of L’Uomo Vogue, Vogue Italia, Casa Vogue
· Lucy Orta, Chair, Art the Environment, University of the Arts London
· Stefania Ricci, Director, Museo Salvatore Ferragamo

In this second edition, Caterina Niccolai has agreed to oversee the award as a technical partner lawyer, and expert in copyright and intellectual property with a special focus on the audio/video Industry.
We are particularly pleased with the confirmation of ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei as one of two main sponsors of the award. ROICA™, t he premium stretch fiber with an innovative range of smart functions to suit every Modern Wardrobe need, which has always been committed to promoting responsible innovation in textiles,
is joined as main sponsor by Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei an exceptional fiber made from the smart tech transformation of cotton linters pre consumer materials and converted through a traceable and transparent closed loop process.
Supporting the project is also SUPREME GREEN COTTON® by Varvaressos an innovative, transparent and socially responsible system granting sustainability from the cotton seed to the garment a nd ECOSENSOR™ by Asahi Kasei Advance a latest generation fabric collection that promotes responsible innovation with advanced high tech performance
The winner will be announced in March 2022 and will receive a cash prize of €3,000.00

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