CNMI SUSTAINABLE FASHION AWARDS 2025

Milan, 23 July 2025 – Art and humanity as evolution of a story, a vision of the future between innovation and responsible thinking, virtuous figures who have been outstanding in their commitment to sustainability. In collaboration with the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion and with support from the Municipality of Milan, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana is preparing to reveal the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards 2025 at an awards ceremony that will be held on Saturday 27 September at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan during the Milano Fashion Week.

This year too, the process of selecting the award winners involved an independent international Jury made up of fashion professionals and other important figures in the sector. The jury for this edition is chaired by Paola Deda, Chairperson, UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion and Director at UNECE. The ten awards that will be granted relate to important themes such as excellence in craftsmanship, climate action, human capital and social impact, circular economy and support for the new generation of designers with The Bicester Collection Award for Emerging Designers.

“The CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards are a veritable celebration of commitment and responsibility in the world of Italian and international fashion. Our intention, with these awards, is to draw attention to businesses and personalities who have been outstanding in their vision and innovation, their promotion of crafts, circular economy, human rights, environmental justice and the safeguarding of biodiversity. Thanks to our illustrious Jury, our collaboration with the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion and partnership with The Bicester Collection and also to active participation on the part of fashion brands, these awards are a great opportunity to get together and share experience. They’re an observatory, an open and inclusive workshop generating dialogue between all the players in the fashion industry. The stories we tell in the process of these awards are offered as inspiration. They are not the goal but rather the start of a journey to undertake with new awareness.” – Carlo Capasa, Chairman, President, Nazionale della Moda Italiana.

“The collaboration between CNMI and the UN Alliance on Sustainable Fashion enables us to deliver a message directly to those who are closest to the fashion world designers, producers, brands, influencers, retailers, marketers, and other professionals who shape the industry. It offers an opportunity to promote sustainability and to work together towards concrete actions and meaningful changes in the fashion sector”– Paola Deda, Chairperson, UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion and Director at UNECE

“The Municipality of Milan and the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana have long shared a common vision, which is also based on the commitment to work together on issues such as the sustainability of the fashion system, which is today fundamental and unavoidable and in which Italian fashion can uniquely invest and make it a cornerstone that distinguishes us from any other fashion in the world and characterizes us.”– Alessia Cappello, Assessora allo Sviluppo economico, Moda e Design

MEMBERS OF THE INDEPENDENT JURY:

  1. Paola Deda – President of the Jury, Chairperson, UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion
    and Director at UNECE
  2. Teneshia Carr – Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Blanc Magazine
  3. Simone Cipriani – Dean atMilano Fashion Institute, Senior Fellow ReTech Center –
    École des Ponts, Adjunct Professor at the Ecole de Management et Impact of Sciences Po
  4. Kerry Kennedy – President, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
  5. Federico Marchetti – Chairman of The Sustainable Markets Initiative’s Fashion Task
    Force, Founder of YOOX NET-A-PORTER Group
  6. Chloe Mukai – Head of Ethical Fashion Initiative – ITC
  7. Samata – CEO, Black Pearl
  8. Michelangelo Pistoletto – Artist
  9. Xenya Scanlon – Lead UN Fashion4Land Initiative and Chief of Communications, External Relations and Partnerships at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
  10. AWARDS:
  11. The SFA Craft and Artisanship Award
  12. The SFA Groundbreaker Award
  13. The SFA Diversity Equity and Inclusion Award
  14. The SFA Circular Economy Award
  15. The SFA Climate Action Award
  16. The SFA Biodiversity & Water Award
  17. The SFA Human Capital & Social Impact Award
  18. The SFA Emerging Designer Award
  19. The SFA Education of Excellence Award
  20. The SFA Visionary Award

Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana is proud to continue its partnership with The Bicester Collection at the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards 2025, reaffirming its commitment to nurturing emerging talent through The Bicester Collection Award for Emerging Designers. The Award is an extension of the Collection’s broader mission to unlock futures and do good—championing creativity, sustainability, and entrepreneurship through its global network of 12 luxury retail destinations across Europe – Fidenza Village in Italy-, China, and the United States.

The three finalists will take part in The Bicester Collection’s mentorship programme, receiving one-to-one guidance in key areas of fashion entrepreneurship. This will connect them with industry experts and offer insights into the Collection’s retail methodology. The winner will also have the opportunity to showcase their collection at The Apartment, The Bicester Collection’s exclusive, invitation-only space for private clients, located at Fidenza Village or one of the Collection’s other Villages.

The shortlisted finalists include the following illustrious trio:

INSTITUTION by Galib Gassano : The new creative project by Galib Gassanoff expresses his personal and esthetical belonging as well as the heritage of cultures he is in touch with. The project operates as a social-artistic organization with an ethical foundation.
The majority of the collection is made of natural fibres, materials sourced from the stock and remains of high-end producers, and this is why availability of each item is limited.

SAKE: SAKE is a regenerative fashion project founded by Colombian designer and textile researcher Ana Tafur. The brand operates at the intersection of ancestral technology, material ecology, and ethical co-creation, offering a living alternative to conventional fashion systems. Rooted in more than a decade of immersive research and collaboration, SAKE co-creates with Indigenous and rural communities across the Peruvian Andes and Amazon to preserve ancestral knowledge, foster ecological restoration, and build regenerative economies through fashion.

SIMON CRACKER: “Crack” is the sound of something that gets broken and it’s the starting point of it all: breaking something that already exists in order to give it a new life. The brand Simon Cracker was born from an idea of Simone Botte, creative director, stylist and fabrics and printings researcher, as an upcycling clothing line, giving a second chance to ‘forgotten’ garments, deadstock fabrics and everything discarded

“The Bicester Collection Award for Emerging Designers reflects our ongoing commitment to invest in creativity and champion new voices, especially in today’s landscape, where the pressures facing young creatives are more complex than ever. It is a privilege to stand alongside Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, for the sixth year, to recognise three exceptional designers making their mark on the industry through innovation, artistry, and responsible growth.” – Desirée Bollier, Chair and Global Chief Merchant, Value Retail Management

The emblem of this event is Michelangelo Pistoletto’s Terzo Paradiso, an artwork that has represented CNMI’s commitment in this context since 2012, along with the drafting of the Manifesto of sustainability for Italian fashion on the initiative of Anna Zegna and Carlo Capasa. Michelangelo Pistoletto’s artwork, ‘The Third Paradise’, represents the fusion of the first and second Paradises. The first paradise is one in which human beings were fully integrated with nature. The second is an artificial paradise developed by human intelligence to the global scale of science and technology today. The Third Paradise is the third phase of humanity, realised through a balanced connection between artifice and nature (Michelangelo Pistoletto, 2003).

The collaboration between CNMI and the Cittadellarte Pistoletto Foundation reaffirms their joint commitment to sustainable fashion education. This commitment forms the core of Fashion B.E.S.T. and the Unidee Academy’s Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes at Cittadellarte. CNMI and Camera Moda Fashion Trust have also renewed their support for the Foundation by offering scholarships to young talents interested in pursuing an education in creative arts and ethical fashion.

For this 2025 edition, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana will once again be working with Balich Wonder Studio to create and produce the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards ceremony, which is scheduled in September. Founded in 2013, Balich Wonder Studio has established itself as a world leader in live entertainment, specializing in creating experiences in the luxury and fashion sectors, as well as staging major ceremonies, thanks to its international team of over 280 professionals from 20 countries.

“We strongly believe in the value of the Sustainable Fashion Awards, which are promoted by the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. Our creative approach supports this important commitment, with the goal of contributing to a better future for our planet. We have assembled a creative team of the highest calibre to take on such a significant project and to honour the prestige of Teatro alla Scala.” – Marco Balich, Board Chairman, Balich Wonder Studio. Our thanks also go to Franciacorta, Wine Partner, and Acqua Fiuggi, Official Water Partner, which will support the cocktail party before the awards ceremony.

courtsey CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards