MILAN (AP) — Milan designers wrapped up six days of runway womenswear previews with a gala award ceremony at Milan’s famed Teatro alla Scala to honor innovations in sustainability. The first iteration of the awards was launched in 2017 in a bid to recognize green innovation in an industry long associated with excess, and better brand communication about steps they are taking to improve their carbon footprint. This week also marked the second edition of the Black Carpet Awards, honoring excellence among people of color living and working in Italy as a means of promoting equity.
Black Carpet awards return British fashion designer Ib Kamara and Angolan supermodel Maria Borges handed out honors at the second edition of the honoring contributions of people of color working in Italy across a variety of sectors. Honorees included shot-putter Danielle Madam, actor Alberto Malachino, Cinzia Adanna Ebonine, an educator who founded a platform to promote inclusive education, Justin Randolph Thompson, founder of Black History Month Florence, and Alice Edun, the founder of Italy’s first haircare brand for curly hair. Despite an international audience, many of the award winners made their remarks in Italian, expressing it as a political choice to demonstrate their full integration and self-identification as Italian.
“It remains correct to bet on the competencies of young Italians of foreign origin, in a context like Italy that too often marginalizes us, or wants to make us invisible.