Last evening F4D’s Inaugural Sustainable Goals Banquet gathered international UN ambassadors, VIPs, fashion industry leaders, political influencers, diplomats, and prominent climate change spokespeople to recognize the importance of sustainable fashion and lifestyle practices.
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F4D is a private sector global platform that promotes positive social change with initiatives in over 20 countries and builds upon the core leadership principles of the 4Es: Educate, Empower, Enhance and Enrich.
F4D’s mission is to activate creative partnerships and harness the power of the fashion and beauty industries for sustainable economic growth and independence of communities worldwide, through the expression of fashion.
In 2015, F4D committed to supporting the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals with a significant focus on sustainable lifestyle practices for a healthier world, preservation of culture, and women’s & children’s empowerment.
The highly-anticipated banquet was held at the Pierre Hotel in New York City, with 60 notable guests in attendance including the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, Italy’s Ambassador to the UN, Maurizio Massari, Anthony Scaramucci, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director Diene Keita, Emanne Beasha, Harold O’Neal, Prada Group’s Marcelo Noschese, Peter Dupont and Breanna Box, Honorable Sherri Goodman and photographer Steven Klein.
The evening was presented by host Evie Evangelou, who welcomed the guests and gave remarks on education and agenda setting on sustainable living issues, circular economy, and the official launch of the global campaign "Sustainable Living is the New Fashion".
To kick off the night’s program, Maurizio Massari received a warm welcome as the banquet highlighted the importance of Italy’s participation in the UN's activities on the growing commitment and contribution to the pursuance of sustainability objectives.
“The achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals can only be possible if Governments and Institutions build credible partnerships with the civil society, the private sector, the young leaders, and all the other social and economic forces of our societies. It also starts with our personal engagement as individuals. Italy, in partnering up with the United Nations for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, adopts a whole-of-society approach to make every stakeholder accountable,” Ambassador to the United Nations, Maurizio Massari.
The banquet opened with a video featuring artist Milla Bubliy and was followed by a video about ocean pollution. Renowned photographer Fadil Berisha and artist Milla Bubliy showcased their collaboration, Phoenix, in the form of an art projection.
In a video message, Livia Firth, F4D’s long-standing Goodwill Ambassador, presented her latest collaboration with director Andrew Morgan for Eco Age’s documentary series, Fashionscapes.
The new episode uncovers how fashion’s big chance to embrace circularity and escape a destructive take-make-and-waste model is being undermined by greenwash and oil, and why circular fashion is worth fighting for.
Citizen T, founded by artist Stephanie Dillon, presented unique hand-painted jackets and recycled tees made in collaboration with Burnett New York and inspired by UN’s urgent commentary, ‘Code Red for Humanity’, and dangerous conditions around climate change.
During the evening, guests had the chance to enjoy a curated plant-based menu by Il Gattopardo while they had the opportunity to observe new sustainable fashion collections by Burnett New York, Linea Pelle’s “A New Point of Materials”, ReClothe and natural beauty brand Bestir Apotheca.
The evening welcomed several influential guests from the world's top fashion houses, including Prada Group’s CEO of the Americas, Marcelo Noschese, and Ferragamo’s US CFO Lorenzo Velardo, whose company released the following statement for the occasion.
“At Salvatore Ferragamo, sustainability has always been present as a behavioral model to be followed without compromise, and today sustainability is deeply integrated in our business strategy. This dedication to creativity, beauty, people, and planet, has been amplified over the last years, with numerous initiatives in the social and environmental fields. Among other initiatives, particular attention has been given to the introduction of responsible processes and responsible materials for our products; we have consolidated our tradition of experimentation, discovering and including alternative, regenerated, and circular materials in our collections”.
Photography by: Eugene Gologursky and Dave Kotinsky
