C.L.A.S.S., the Italian hub supporting sustainable fashion, has just launched the Manifesto for Responsible Fashion and kicked off the Call To Action of C.L.A.S.S. Icon 2021 contest.
The annual competition debuted in 2020 as an initiative to reward a visionary creative who is able to combine design, responsible innovation and communication, and capable of raising contemporary consumer awareness about the new values of sustainable fashion.
The search to find the C.L.A.S.S. Icon 2021 was initiated by Giusy Bettoni, founder of C.L.A.S.S., during the Smart Voices panel “C.L.A.S.S. Icon: Award and Manifesto for Responsible Fashion,” moderated by the journalist Diana de Marsanich, and featuring fashion designer Gilberto Calzolari, winner of the C.L.A.S.S. Icon Award 2020, and Federico Poletti, marketing and communication director of White Show.
During the panel 2020 award winner Calzolari shared his vision for responsible fashion and his current projects: “My brand is a laboratory of experimentation. I create fashion to open conversations and change the way people behave and think. My creativity–from the choice of fabrics and processes to the image I decide to communicate–are the weapons at my disposal. I have always thought of my collections as a call to action for a better future and now more than ever my mission as C.L.A.S.S. Icon is to make people understand that commitment and sustainability can and must go hand in hand with beauty and elegance. The adage ‘kalòs kai agathòs’ [beauty and good coincide] is one of the classical teachings that should never be forgotten: aesthetics, in my opinion, is inseparable from ethics. That's why I don’t just target professionals, but also the end consumer, fashionistas and beyond.”
C.L.A.S.S. Manifesto for Responsible Fashion sums up the values C.L.A.S.S. has been supporting since it was founded in 2007. These include the importance of a company to behave ethically, follow transparent production standards, offer traceable and healthy products and guarantee respect for people and the environment while being committed to circular economy, safeguarding the oceans and lowering the use of water, energy and resources.
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