The inaugural CFDA + Lexus Fashion* Initiative challenged designers to imagine a positive future for American fashion and then create a strategic blueprint for implementing innovative business practices that support the triple bottom line.
The 17-month long C/L F*I came to a close at the Greenwich Hotel, where each participant presented their blueprint for positively impacting the future of fashion.
The selection committee – including Burak Cakmak, Kristy Caylor, Laurent Claquin, Rachel Espersen, Julie Gilhart, Jason Kibbey and Steven Kolb –gathered with program mentors and advisors to view the live presentations.
Here, a summary of the ideas the 10 finalists put forth:
Brother Vellies: Invest in vertical production operations in African workshops to cut costs; reduce carbon emissions and integrate Africa into the luxury marketplace.
Deszo: Support the infrastructure in the communities where their manufacturing is happening in order to support women and bring global awareness to traditional craft techniques.
Erin Snow: Design for circularity by building an end-of-use strategy; invest in material innovation to positively impact environmental and human health and further manufacturing transparency.
K/LLER Collection: Minimize production with new materials by investing in by-product materials like Ankole Horn and implement a “collect and reinvent” take-back program.
Nicholas K: Focus on end of use strategies, garment care, and repair to extend the life of customer’s garments and lessen environmental impact.
Prabal Gurung: Implement Clean By Design solutions in his Nepal factory to reduce environmental impacts and create a case study for global impact through manufacturing.
SVILU: Quantify positive environmental impact with metrics to use as a tool to educate consumers and provide manufacturing transparency.
TOME: Create a circular and female empowered global supply chain that engages artisan communities, provides education and promotes scalable sustainable solutions for farming and agriculture.
Wwake: Strengthen metrics and reporting while working towards a traceable supply chain to allow for customer education and engagement.
Zero + Maria Cornejo: Focus on converting high volume materials to sustainable options, while providing a roadmap to sustainability for other luxury designers.
After a Q+A, some deliberation and a blind ballot vote by the selection committee, the grand prize of $150,000 and two awards of $50,000 were determined based on vision, viability and impact potential.
During the cocktail celebration at the Greenwich Hotel Penthouse, Rachel Espersen of Lexus presented the grand prize to Erin Isakov of Erin Snow, and the two additional awards to Maria Cornejo of Zero + Maria Cornejo and Wing Yin Yau of Wwake.
