At a time in our world when there seems to be so much division, there is an annual gathering that strives to unify trailblazing women from all walks of life, through the intersection of fashion and entertainment.
Led by its founder, Livia Firthlos Green Carpet Fashion Awards (GCFA) will return during Oscar week, March 6, with Hollywood heavyweights like Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, Helen Hunt y Zendaya as co-chairs of this year’s special meeting, along with the Minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, Sonia Guajajaraand Ugandan climate justice activist Vanessa Nakate.
Firth, married to Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth, started this section in 2010 thanks to the interest of the world-renowned fashion designer and A Single Man filmmaker, Tom Ford.
In what was originally the Green Carpet Challenge (GCC), Firth says Ford attended every red carpet event she and her team hosted. He adds that even “last year, when he came to the Green Carpet Fashion Awards, it was like, ‘I’ve never seen an event like this.’ It’s incredible – the atmosphere, the energy – to have these young leaders with other celebrities is mind-blowing.”
The GCFA officially began in 2017, with its first three years being held in Milan, Italy, under “a completely different concept because it was more about the fashion footprint,” according to Firth.
Then, in 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Firth and his GCFA team became the first company in the world to create a film from an event, rather than the common use of recording video parts from people’s homes at the time. In 2022, Firth remembers hosting “a small dinner in Los Angeles during Oscar week, where we announced that we would be back the following year with a new iteration.”
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Attendees at the 2023 GCFA event in Hollywood included Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Campbell, Simu Liu, Jodie Turner-Smith, Edward Enninful, Alicia Silverstone, Taylor Zakhar Perez y Heidi Klum
Speaking about the importance of intertwining fashion and entertainment, Firth said: “These two worlds are key for the Green Carpet Fashion Awards, to understand what we are about. It’s more about active citizenship and understanding that the power is in each of us, whether it’s the activist from Uganda or Kenya or the indigenous leader from Brazil or Greenland or the celebrity co-chair, they are the same.
“We use the power of entertainment and the fashion industry to give power back to people who would not be invited to the Oscars or an event during the Oscars, so we create a platform for those leaders or those voices to come together,” he pointed.
Reflecting on her efforts over the years, Firth says the GCFA’s evolving formation represents “the chaos of her professional career” – starting as a documentary producer, then opening Eco-Age as its founder and creative director, being the main consulting and creative agency specialized in integrated sustainability.
Firth is also a member of the Civil Society Advisory Group of UN Womenas well as co-founder of the NGO The Circle with singer-songwriter and activist Annie Lennoxa group focused on creating a more just world for women and girls around the world.
Firth added: “Through my work, I visited millions of supply chains. I went to many countries in Africa, I went to Bangladesh, I went to Cambodia, I went to Vietnam, I went to the Amazon. I talked to people on the ground and heard the stories of the real people who produce and manufacture the textiles. I also live in this dream world of Hollywood and awards season for many years. I think precisely because of that, it allows me to flourish and work, because I am not just one person. There is a great effort: everyone at Eco-Age is an activist and we empower each other. We collaborate and partner with many organizations and people around the world, and I believe we have a vision that is interconnected.”
So how does the GCFA get today’s biggest Hollywood names on board with this ongoing mission?
Firth said: “There are different reasons. Firstly, I think Hollywood feels safe with us because we have been working with talent for over 10 years. We have an incredible track record of working with them in a way that makes them feel protected.”
“I don’t want to sound humble, but we are masters at communicating the sustainability in a way in which we were never, ever attacked or accused of ‘greenwashing’ or getting the messages wrong. “I think there is that element where they feel safe and once you give them that feeling, they feel like they are in a space where they can operate within who they are and it’s much easier to communicate what they stand for,” he noted.
As the conversation with Firth began to wrap up, I wondered, with the many conflicts going on in our world, what makes the message and mission of the GCFA even more necessary right now.
“I think nowadays, we really need to cut through the noise. There’s a lot of noise – social media is a big part of it. In the end, we just need to look at humanity and pick up the conversation about how we become human again.” “, answered.
“How do we find that optimism and hope to build again? I think that central theme will be very reflected in this year’s GCFA, in the awardees, because that’s what it’s about: how we rebuild,” he concluded.
Note published in Forbes US.
2024-02-24 19:35:50
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