CFDA President and CEO Steven Kolb and Lexus Creative Programming & Partnerships Director Rachel Esperson hosted an intimate breakfast at Lafayette on Friday to announce the winners of the Micro Award Challenge, a major milestone in the CFDA + Lexus Fashion* Initiative.
The 10 finalists were asked to pitch projects, resources and ideas that would integrate sustainability into their businesses. “I think this is one of the most important programs we have at the CFDA and maybe sometimes the least recognized,” Kolb said. “And it’s really made possible through Lexus. As a company, this is an issue Lexus has been connected to and advocating for a long time.”
Kolb mentioned that the crux of the Micro Award Challenge is that, although there is so much great sustainability work being done in the world, it doesn’t get the attention it deserves. That’s because more often than not, “it just isn’t sexy.” The three winners — Prabal Gurung, Erin Isakov for Erin Snow, and Wing Yin Yau for WWAKE — put forth projects that aim to change that.
Erin Snow proposed a new line of her sumptuous high-performance cold-weather outerwear, using an insulation technology that competes with the look, feel and performance of down. But unlike down, it animal-free, totally recyclable and free from harmful chemicals. Wing Yin Yau for WWAKE wants to develop an extensive online database with encyclopedic levels of supply-chain information for her jewelry customers. Prabal Gurung had his native Nepal on the mind and proposed minimizing the carbon footprint of his factory there by implanting the Natural Resources Defense Counsel’s Clean by Design program. “It’s such an important cause, considering everything going on in the world,” he said.
The three winners took home $10,000 each to turn their projects into reality, and the other Micro Award applicants were pleased to find out they wouldn’t be going home empty-handed—each of the runners-up went home with a small contribution from Lexus to put towards their sustainability goals.
The Fashion* Initiative’s influence is already felt beyond the 10 finalists.
“It’s great to be included in these types of events,” said young designer Blake Felty who, along with Kara Kroeger, won this year’s Kenneth Cole Innovation Award and is currently on a one-year fellowship at Kenneth Cole. Felty and Kroeger discussed what it might be like to have their own brands someday, and how they would, in turn, work towards sustainability. The next generation is ready.
See more of the CFDA/Lexus Fashion* Initiative sustainability story by following #ReDesignFashion.
