Despite global efforts towards eco-friendly fashion, we still live in the age of fast fashion. This leaves staff underpaid, physically and mentally exhausted, and ends up in landfills with an explosion of discarded clothing. It makes sense that Evie Evangelou, founder and president of Fashion four Development, would choose to honor the year’s conscious fashion leaders at her annual global gala.
This year, Fashion Development will host the 12th Annual First Ladies Luncheon on September 2, the opening day of the high-level assembly of the 79th consultation of the United Nations General Assembly.
“The occasion will light up a healthier planet with healthier, happier people,” Evangelou said. “If we reduce our consumption and are more conscious, not supporting fast fashion, buying less, buying better, more exclusive and supporting moral brands not only in fashion but also in the way of life in general, the world will be better. “
This year’s winners recognize fashion changemakers, such as Juliet Guo, founder of Sanddriver Cashmere, an ethically sourced cashmere logo in Shanghai and sourced from the Alashan Plateau in Inner Mongolia.
“It is vital to take care of others and lead a dignified life,” Guo said. “My goal is to help Himalayan women by training them in an industry and offering them jobs. Seeing that they are incredibly satisfied because they have inherited national craftsmanship is my greatest happiness.
It also includes Yue-Sai Kan, a well-known Chinese-American television host, businessman, and philanthropist known for bridging the gap between China and the United States, as well as Eva Orner, an Academy Award- and Emmy-winning filmmaker and director. with the most recent release of the documentary Brandy Melville
“I think we’ve reached a point where I wonder what the word ‘sustainability’ still means to other people,” Evangelou said. “I know there are smart things happening, but there is still a lot of marketing power greenwashing. This is one of the main reasons I choose designers who create smaller collections with local productions to showcase, with the goal of inspiring consumers to continue in this direction. In 2024, more and more people will be aware of what they are buying and where it comes from.
Honorees also include Amy Green, co-founder of the Green Vision Foundation, which supports conservation projects for Africa’s endangered species and environment, as well as Lauren Bush Lauren, co-founder of Feed Projects, and her mother, Sharon Bush.
According to Sharon Bush, it speaks to the generational philanthropy that binds families together.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 19: Evie Evangelou attends the 11th annual Fashion Four Development. . . [ ] Ladies’ luncheon at 583 Park Avenue on September 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo via Michael Ostuni/Patrick McMullan Getty Images)
“I had the platform to act smart and help others on a larger scale,” he said. “I took my children when they were young to soup kitchens and homeless shelters; They had to serve soup and play with the children in the homeless shelters. I’ve done it many times and I think it’s influenced them by making a difference in their perspective. They have learned to have compassion.
Bush Lauren channeled her philanthropic upbringing after traveling with her mother for the United Nations World Food Program into her company, Feed Projects. “With Feed, I saw the disparity that exists in the world and the fact that so many young people are suffering, just because the country and the setting in which they were born, is a setting where they don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” he stated.
Evie Evangelou, founder of Fashion Development, with Franca Sozzani and Ban Ki-moon.
Bush Lauren explains, “That’s why I created a logo that raises budget and awareness to feed young schoolchildren around the world in underserved communities, so they can take care of themselves, their families, and their communities. “
Another winner is Chantal Khoueiry, director of culture at Value Retail and operator of The Bicester Village Shopping Collection. She leads the Unlock Her Future Award, which supports ordinary women in social marketing who align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Evangelou explains: “Even if policymakers and big companies want to make changes, which are not going to slow down as temporarily as they should, consumers also want to be well informed and aware of what they do in their lives. »
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 21: Livia Firth, Annie Lennox and Evie Evangelou appear to be on the same level at the Fashion Four Development’s Sixth Annual Official First Ladies Luncheon on September 21, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter)
Evangelou founded Fashion Four Development in 2011 for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and Every Woman, Every Child initiative in cooperation with the office of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon.
For the past 14 years, the organization has helped empower women entrepreneurs, moral fashion brands, sustain culture, raise awareness of environmental issues and motivate solutions, and bridge the gap between international relations and fashion, arts and the lifestyle.
Soon, Evangelou will release “Global Runway,” a 400-page art e-book written by Stephanie Dillon and produced through LDF Studios in Milan. The e-book will premiere at a fashion exhibition at the United Nations Headquarters in 2026 and will feature fashion designers from one hundred countries decided through the most sensible foreign curators.
“It will visually constitute our shared values and the humanity that connects us, celebrating diversity, tolerance, reconciliation and the preservation of culture,” Evangelou said.
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