https://www.connectingcultures.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Submission-Guidelines-2023-27_10_22.pdfA call broadcast to creatives from around the world for new models of communication for sustainable fashion: October 27, 2022 marks the launch of the third edition of the Imagining Sustainable Fashion Award. The Imagining Sustainable Fashion Award (ISFA) is the international competition born out of the collaboration between Connecting Cultures, the foundation that guides the Out of Fashion platform, and C.L.A.S.S., the international eco-hub that since 2007 has been advocating for a new generation of fashion in which the union of design, innovation, communication, and responsibility shapes a conscious and competitive business, capable of playing both an economic and social role.
The Imagining Sustainable Fashion Award invites stylists, photographers, designers, illustrators and artists to create visual imagery, an avant-garde project that highlights awareness, respect for people and the planet that define the values of sustainable fashion in the fashion system.
“We will be evaluating innovative projects expressed in the form of images, original and brilliant ideas that speak to people’s hearts and minds to counter the rampant opacity and ambiguity of greenwashing that is poisoning fashion communication,” said Giusy Bettoni, CEO and founder of C.L.A.S.S. “The goal of the Imagining Sustainable Fashion Award is not to give visibility to a particular product, but to promote a next-generation style of communication and impactful images inspired by the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.”
Award submissions will be examined by a high-profile international jury composed of:
Anna Detheridge, Founder and President, Connecting Cultures
Giusy Bettoni, CEO and Founder, C.L.A.S.S.
Rita Airaghi, Steering Advisor, Gianfranco Ferré Research Center
Paola Arosio, Head of New Brands & Sustainability Projects, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana
Jeanine Ballone Managing Director, Fashion 4 Development
Evie Evangelou, Founder and President, Fashion 4 Development
Sara Kozlowski, Vice President of Program Strategies, Education, and Sustainability Initiatives, 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 former editor-at-large of L’Uomo Vogue, Vogue Italia, Casa Vogue
Stefania Ricci, Director, Museo Salvatore Ferragamo
Jovana Vukoje, Senior New Brands Specialist, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana
Caterina Niccolai will offer support as a technical partner, and legal, copyright, and intellectual property expert.
The winning projects of past editions were Take a Walk on the Green Side by Emma Scalcon (2021 – Italy) and Fashion Affair by Vishal Tolambia (2022 – India), two very different works that highlighted how challenging sustainability issues are in the contemporary communication landscape.
“This year we have greatly increased our focus on young talent from around the world. We are particularly interested in receiving projects from this next generation of creative talent, and we intend to involve international schools and academies even more,” said Anna Detheridge, President of Connecting Cultures. “How will they translate these values into innovative concepts and images that truly communicate what is at the heart of sustainable fashion?
The Sustainable Fashion Award 2023 launch is scheduled via webinar on Thursday, October 27 at 4 p.m. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at midnight.
C.L.A.S.S. and Connecting Cultures are particularly pleased to confirm support for the award from brands committed to the forefront of sustainable textile research and production worldwide. ROICA™ by Asahi Kasei is one of two Main Sponsors of the award. ROICA™ is the high-quality stretch fiber with an innovative range of smart features to meet every contemporary wardrobe need for sports, intimates, and fashion. ROICA™ has always been committed to promoting responsible innovation in the textile industry. The second Main Sponsor is Bemberg™ by Asahi Kasei, an extraordinary fiber obtained by smart-tech processing of pre-consumer cotton linter processed through a traceable and transparent closed-loop process.
Also supporting the project are SUPREME GREEN COTTON® by Varvaressos, an innovative, transparent, traceable and socially-responsible system that ensures sustainability from the cotton seed to the finished garment, and ECOSENSOR™ by Asahi Kasei Advance, a next-generation fabric collection that promotes responsible innovation with advanced high-tech performance.
The Imagining Sustainable Fashion Award 2023 relies on young ambassadors who will promote the award through their communication channels:
Ren Collective, a nonprofit organization supporting brands, micro-businesses, professionals and students who want to integrate sustainable practices into their activities or education.
Iris Skrami, CEO and co-founder of Renoon, the platform that enables companies & consumers to engage around transparency and the impact of products from an app or directly within companies’ websites, one of the year’s rising startups, reaching more than 2 million people every month and aggregating hundreds of brands, 70+ of which have verified their claims.
Valentina Suarez, Co-Founder and director of the Latin American sustainable fashion movement Universo MOLA, a program of the Entre Soles y Lunas Foundation.
Vishal Tolambia, Founder of Humanity-Centred Designs, researcher in the field of sustainability in textiles and fashion, winner of the 2022 award with the project Fashion Affair.
Participants are invited to submit their projects to info@connectingcultures.info by midnight on January 25, 2023 (full details at https://www.connectingcultures.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Submission-Guidelines-2023-27_10_22.pdf).
The winner will be announced in March 2023 and will receive a cash prize of €3,000.00.
