Sustainable Progress Awards Lift The Mood At Milan Fashion Week

Anna Wintour and Francesco Carrozzini attend the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards 2025

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Milan Fashion Week had much to be sombre about. The passing of one of the Italian greats of fashion, Giorgio Armani, lingered over the events amongst a backdrop of an economic downturn for luxury and ongoing sweatshop allegations that have threatened the “Made in Italy” prestige. Furthermore, the country was rocked by a strike in solidarity with Gaza the day before fashion week started.

But, despite this, two award ceremonies celebrating a more progressive agenda brought a sense of resilience to the week. The Black Carpet Awards, which celebrated black talent in the creative industries on September 24, and the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards, which took place on September 27, are taking a firm stand for a more inclusive, equitable and environmentally conscious industry at a time when these issues risk slipping down the agenda. They came a few days after the first ever Nat Gala in New York which aims to use a high-profile, celebrity-filled event to raise funds for nature.

“Milan is globally recognized as one of the fashion capitals of the world, but it has also been perceived as an exclusive space,” Michelle Ngonmo, CEO and founder of the Afro Fashion Association which organizes the Black Carpet Awards, told me in an interview. “Hosting the Black Carpet Awards here creates a bridge between tradition and transformation. It invites the city to embrace plurality and multiculturalism as strengths, positioning Milan as not just a hub of style, but also a hub of social progress and innovation.”

Much of the work of sustainability, diversity and inclusion has happened in spaces that mirror the gravity of the issues: boardrooms, conferences and, in some cases, even protests, but Ngonmo believes the glamour and celebration of awards are just as important to embrace. “An award ceremony creates a moment of recognition and visibility. It brings together leaders, creatives, and communities in a way that is celebratory and aspirational. While conversations about inclusion are vital, celebrating concrete achievements amplifies impact, showing what is possible when talent is nurtured and differences are embraced.”

Carlo Capasa, president of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana said in an Instagram post about the Sustainable Fashion Awards, “Last night, we gathered together to celebrate the value of fashion, its power to connect, to inspire, and to shape the world we live in. At a time when the world feels divided, fashion can build bridges. It is a language of inclusion, a space where differences are not erased but embraced, where every culture, every voice, every identity finds its place on stage.”

Many of the voices on the stage brought star power to the events. The Black Carpet Awards was hosted by Tamu McPherson and the jury was presided over by this year’s “godmother”, Naomi Campbell, while Anna Wintour presented a posthumous Legacy Award to Giorgio Armani at the Sustainable Fashion Awards.

Crucially, though, many less well known, but none-the-less impactful, names were spotlighted at both award ceremonies. Among the winners at the Black Carpet Awards were fashion stylist and textile designer Augusta Carter picked up the Leader of Change: Creativity award, while Caterina Monda and Debrina Aliyah were awarded Leader of Change: Entrepreneurship for their work at their PR agency Metis.

At the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards, Indian social enterprise Saheli Women picked up the Human Capital and Social Impact award, while Sake was awarded the emerging designer prize.

Though not new awards, the Black Carpet Awards is now in its third year while the Sustainable Fashion Awards are in its fourth year, they are perhaps more needed today than when they started a few years ago. In a world, and a fashion industry, that can feel heavy, the combination of glitz, glamour and celebrating progress proved a restorative moment for guests.

Content creator and activist Kamakhya Kay who attended the Black Carpet Awards posted on Instagram: “This is more than a celebration of achievement; it’s a celebration of resilience, the courage to dream, to rise, and to keep going no matter the barriers.”

Simone Cipriani, dean of Milano Fashion Institute who sat on the jury for the Sustainable Fashion Awards, also praised the awards but hoped they would shift the needle beyond individual cases of positive actioin. He said on LinkedIn: “These awards are inspiring — but they should also be a call to action. In the future, we must use them to stimulate quicker and more targeted innovation across all areas of sustainability at the level of the industry and its major players.”

Full list of winners

Black Carpet Awards – Winners

• Leader of Change: Culture
  The winner selected by the Jury: Nogaye Ndiaye
  The winner selected by the Public: Mariam Battistelli
• Leader of Change: Creativity
  The winner selected by the Jury: Rediet Longo
  The winner selected by the Public: Augusta Carter
• Leader of Change: Community
  The winner selected by the Jury: Aya Mohamed
  The winner selected by the Public: Ronke Oluwadare
• Leader of Change: Entrepreneurship
  The winner selected by the Jury: Antonio Dikele Distefano
  The winner selected by the Public: Caterina Monda & Debrina Aliyah
• Leader of Change: Legacy
  The winner selected by the Jury: Igiaba Scego
  The winner selected by the Public: Leandra Medeiros Cerezo
• One-Time Award 2025 dedicated to Koyo Kouoh
  The winner selected by the Jury: Janine Gaëlle Dieudji
• “The New Wave”
  The selected talents: Abbia Maswi, Donald Ngamene, Fambaye Diouf, Immaculate Ruému, Lamine Diop, Lina Simons, Murphy Tomadin, Shivin Singh, Terry Aidoo e Thoé.

CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards – Winners

• Legacy Award: Giorgio Armani
• The SFA Craft and Artisanship Award: Tod’s
• The SFA Groundbreaker Award: Aura Blockchain Consortium
• The SFA Diversity and Inclusion Award: Willy Chavarria
• The SFA Circular Economy Award: Regenesi
• The SFA Climate Action Award: The Schneider Group
• The SFA Biodiversity and Water Award: Ermenegildo Zegna
• The SFA Human Capital and Social Impact Award: Saheli Woman
• The Bicester Collection Award for Emerging Designers: Sake
• The SFA Education of Excellence Award: Kiton