LONDON — July 30, 2021 — Red Carpet Green Dress™ (RCGD) launches the 2021 RCGD Global Design Contest in partnership with TENCEL™ and CLO. Founded by leading environmentalist Suzy Amis Cameron over a decade ago, the international design contest is open to talented designers over the age of 21. Enabling design talent all over the world to enter the prestigious competition, alongside established designers looking to begin or extend their sustainable journey, the 2021 contest is open to anyone with an interest or passion for sustainability.

With a focus on sustainable textile innovations with the TENCEL brand, designers can submit their application through rcgdglobal.com from July 30 until August 23, 2021. The winners will be selected by an international panel of design experts. The winning designs’ construction will take place this fall and will be created as one-of-a-kind pieces in CLO’s cutting-edge true-to-life 3D garment simulation software. Created from world leading TENCEL branded fibers — botanic in origin and biodegradable — each sustainable piece will be worn by a RCGD ambassador from the world of fashion and media to this year’s RCGD Event. Attended physically and powerfully brought to life digitally with CLO software to an audience of the world’s most passionate sustainability voices, this year’s event will showcase the power of sustainable design using fabrics made with TENCEL fibers or TENCEL Luxe filament with a spotlight on the key environmental themes such as regeneration, circularity and decarbonzation.

Alongside the exhibition opportunity, access to RCGD’s network of sustainability pioneers and talents, the contest prize for the design contest will include a business mentorship, monetary prize and partner goodies.

The 2021 RCGD Event in partnership with TENCEL and CLO will also finally present the 2020 contest winning designs by Sanah Sharma Mehra (Chennai, India) and Jasmine Kelly Rutherford (New York, USA) after the postponement of the RCGD Pre-Oscars Event in early 2021 to comply with global COVID-19 safety protocols.

The campaign is working proudly in partnership with TENCEL, the textile specialty brand under The Lenzing Group, covering textile specialty product fiber offerings for the red carpet, everyday apparel and home. The TENCEL product brand portfolio defines a new evolutionary step in terms of sustainability, functional benefits, natural comfort and caters for distinctive everyday usage or application. TENCEL™ branded modal and lyocell fibers and TENCEL Luxe lyocell filament yarns are produced via environmentally responsible production processes and are compostable and biodegradable, thus can fully revert back to nature.

RCGD is also working proudly with CLO, the market-leading 3D garment design software that allows apparel designers and brands to easily and accurately construct digital garments. With its user-friendly work- flow and state-of-the-art cloth simulation algorithm, CLO provides brands with the ability to instantly see their designs come to life, while also reducing their sample lead time to as little as 27 hours.

“The emerging design community is one of the most exciting and rewarding to work with — it is full of immense talent, inspiring creativity and uplifting hope,” said Samata Pattinson, CEO of Red Carpet Green Dress. “We are so excited to be working with TENCEL to showcase the future of sustainable textiles, and with CLO to showcase the future of design creativity through software. This year’s contest will give two lucky winners the opportunity to broaden their horizons and become part of our network of leaders in the space. I am excited and can’t wait to see the final winning designs!”

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Red Carpet Green Dress this year and we can’t wait to be inspired by the innovative ideas that we will see,” said Harold Weghorst, vice president of Global Marketing and Branding, Lenzing AG. “By bringing together young and established talents, we hope to encourage more designers to take a proactive step to building a more eco-friendly fashion world through experimenting sustainable materials, like TENCEL branded fibers, in their designs. As we continue to lay the foundation for a more sustainable fashion future, eco-friendly materials and timeless fashion pieces will become mainstream choice among designers, brands and consumers.”

“As a first-time partner of Red Carpet Green Dress, we are very excited to be partnering with them on their annual global design competition, and to be the exclusive 3D technology provider powering the digital twin of the winning garments,” said Simon Kim, CEO of CLO Virtual Fashion. “We believe that technology is the answer to helping designers and companies operate more sustainably and hope that contest participants are inspired to integrate CLO into their current and future processes to truly amplify their creativity and expand their ability to experiment with designs in a socially responsible way.”

Red Carpet Green Dress was conceived in response to the growing need for sustainable fashion. When faced with the lack of ethical fashion choices whilst attending global premieres of husband James Cameron’s’ ‘Avatar’, campaign founder Suzy Amis Cameron decided that it was time for a change. She created a design contest which challenged emerging and established designers across the globe to create sustainable Oscar-worthy gowns, thus fulfilling the Green Dress criteria to serve the obvious need for more sustainability in the industry.

The Prize

Winning designers will be announced in September 2021.

The prize includes:

• The opportunity to dress prominent talent in the fashion and media industry for a high profile red carpet moment
• The opportunity to present their work to an audience of sustainability leaders and innovators
• A monetary award
• Spend time with RCGD Campaign Founder Suzy Amis Cameron
• Business mentorship with RCGD CEO Samata Pattinson
• An invitation to join the 2021 Red Carpet Green Dress™ Event

The Judges

•  Suzy Amis Cameron, Founder — A noted environmental leader, business pioneer, mom of five and new grandma, Suzy Amis Cameron is committed to caring for our wild, living Earth, with an emphasis on plant-based food to address climate change. In 2009, she launched Red Carpet Green Dress, a global sustainable fashion campaign showcasing environmentally responsible fashions on the red carpet in partnership with The Oscars. RCGD also co-creates sustainable garments with luxury international fashion brands.
• Harold Weghorst is Vice President of Global Marketing & Branding, Lenzing AG, heading the company’s international marketing and branding efforts for the TENCEL and TENCEL Luxe brands. A leader and visionary in brand marketing and strategic brand management, Weghorst brings with him over 25 years of experience in managing global retail businesses and brands. Weghorst has been the driving force behind the transformation of the TENCEL brand from a B2B offering to a household name. He is committed to making sustainability a mainstream discussion in the fashion world.
• Micaela Erlanger is a Celebrity Fashion Stylist based in New York City. Her work has been seen on the biggest red carpets around the globe and in the pages of top fashion publications worldwide. As one of the most sought-after Celebrity Stylists in the industry, Erlanger’s unprecedented ascent to power stylist has been profiled by Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar and numerous other publications. Having been repeatedly named one of the ‘Most Powerful Stylists,’ by The Hollywood Reporter, a position she has held since 2014. Her diverse high-profile clients include Meryl Streep, Lupita Nyong’o, Common, Diane Kruger, Sigourney Weaver and Amanda Hearst to name a few.
• Abrima Erwiah (Accra | New York), with actress and activist Rosario Dawson, is the co-founder of Studio. One Eighty Nine, an artisan produced fashion lifestyle brand and social enterprise that is currently a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund 2021 recipient. Studio 189 focuses on empowerment, creating jobs and supporting education and skills training. Erwiah is an undergraduate and graduate Professor at Parsons University, and was the former Worldwide communications director at Bottega Veneta. Erwiah is the founder of Fashion Our Future, a campaign focused on voter registration and participation that aims to leverage the power of fashion to engage underrepresented communities in the political process. She is the recipient of prestigious awards including FIT Changemaker, Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Emerging Designer and the CFDA Lexus Fashion Initiative for Sustainability.

Posted July 30, 2021

Source: Red Carpet Green Dress™ (RCGD)/TENCEL/CLO Virtual Fashion

ARCO, Italy — July 29, 2021 — After establishing its solid position in the B2B world, Aquafil is pivoting to reach consumers directly by launching an ECONYL® shoppable platform, allowing conscious consumers to purchase products made from ECONYL Regenerated Nylon in one place for the first time.

The platform was designed to respond to current market trends where digitalization, online sales and sustainability are the winning factors today. Initially launching with 15 brands, Aquafil plans to roll out the ECONYL e-shop to other sustainably minded businesses who are aligned with company’s value and vision for a better future.

In this first phase, consumers will be able to shop Swimwear, Womenswear, Menswear and Accessories, from brands including ACE, Aisy dance, Aoife®, Botanical Beach Babes, C’est la V, Dos Gardenias, Garmont, Karün, Ludovica Gualtieri Milano, Malaika New York, Mermazing, Pacsafe, State Of Matter, Tenue De Soleil and WAO. Many others will join soon.

Each product on the e-shop is categorized according to responsible values, such as Vegan, Zero Waste, Eco Design, Ethical Labour, Healthy Seas Member, Size Inclusive and Local Production, amongst others.

Consumers can not only shop but also learn more about sustainability. The new-look ECONYL platform will host a variety of educational content to strengthen consumer knowledge on a range of sustainability topics as well as combat misleading and confusing information. For example, topics will include: what happens to clothes after they are tossed, how can fashion brands achieve zero waste, how can we, as consumers, reduce, reuse and recycle, or what are the UN SDGs and how can we contribute as individuals.

Giulio Bonazzi, CEO and Chairman of Aquafil, said: “In this very challenging historical moment, we are looking to the future with very different eyes. We stepped out of our comfort zone, something we know very well. We want to get closer to consumers and create a community where people share values and dreams for a better future. We envision a sustainable future driven by the responsibility to change the world one choice at a time”

For the last ten years, ECONYL, created by The Aquafil Group, has provided more responsible solutions for the fashion and interior world and is used by brands globally throughout the fashion industry and beyond — from Burberry and Prada to Adidas and Speedo.

Posted July 29, 2021

Source: Aquafil/ECONYL®