During the Green Carpet Fashion Awards ceremony in Milan on Sunday 24th September Annie Lennox presented the ‘Art of Craftsmanship’ award to the seamstresses of Valentino. The world of fashion came together at Teatro alla Scala to celebrate Italian producers that champion community and social justice, traditional craftsmanship and innovation and technological transformation. For the very first time, the unique awards put sustainability at the heart of fashion.
Presenting the award Annie said:
“Good evening everyone.
It’s a wonderful experience to be here with you this evening at La Scala. I want to thank you so much for your incredible donation to our Italian Circle. The Circle is a group of women who feel passionately about justice and rights for women all around the world – where 41 million girls worldwide are still denied education, where at least one in three women have been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in their lifetime – and HIV/AIDS is one of the leading causes of death in girls and women of reproductive age across the continent of Africa. These are just three of the issues we are involved with, as fund raisers, advocates and contributors to the Global Women’s Movement and the United Nation’s goal number 5 for Gender Equality. This year The Circle launched the first ever legal report on the right to a living wage for garment workers worldwide. Which brings me to the award I’m about to present…..’The Art of Craftsmanship’… Behind every great house of fashion, there are thousands of exceptional women. Women so dedicated – professional and gifted that they represent everything it means to be outstanding artisans. What they create is spellbinding – They are indeed a uniquely special Circle of Women and I’m absolutely delighted to honour them with this award tonight.
The winners are – the seamstresses of Maison Valentino.”
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