by Although this season’s award shows have had no political messages, Livia Firth and the Green Carpet Fashion Awards are still giving voice to progressive causes during the brightest time of the year.
On Wednesday in Los Angeles, Firth gathered a star-studded group under a rain pattern on the rooftop tent at Hotel 1 for a vegetarian dinner and inspirational speeches, including Donatella Versace; Zendaya; Legend of John; Teigen belts; Annie Lennox; Quannah Chasinghorse; former president of Ireland Mary Robinson; garment worker and union leader Kalpona Akter; Ugandan presidential candidate and Oscar nominee Bobi Wine and his wife Barbie Kyagulanyi, and indigenous Greenlandic climate activist and Angaangaq Angakkorsuaq leader.
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It was one of those incredible Hollywood nights.
Finscéal, who was honored for his work with the FreeAmerica Foundation to end bigotry, broke into Bob Marley’s “Liberation Song” at the podium, with Lennox raising his hands and mouthing the words from his seat.
Amber Valetta announced to guests that they would be “eating their sweaters” for the main course, as pasta was served with tomatoes grown using Candiani Coreva compostable denim. (The same material was used to create her plastic-free stretch denim tuxedo dress designed by Triarchy.)
Jennifer Coolidge and Michaela Jaé Rodriguez introduced Versace together, and Rodriguez excitedly shared how the designer graciously greeted her at the 2022 Met Gala.
“As a trans woman, a trans woman of color, you don’t know if you have any space, and she showed me.…I was sculpting by myself and I went up and she said hello and it was the warmest hello , and you don’t know how much a hello can change someone’s perspective,” Rodriguez said.
“I have always tried to embrace change even when it felt very difficult to do it,” said Versace, accepting the Changemaker Award. “Change is a great teacher. We cannot grow without change. I have learned so much from my time with queer and transgender leaders and activists. I have seen love that has defied laws, political boundaries and institutional religions. I spoke out in Italy, where it is now forbidden for gay couples to form a family. As you know, this hatred is going through the United States of America right now,” she said, noting the more than 400 pieces of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation introduced, and the death of trans teenager Nex Benedict recently. “This is an unspeakable tragedy. I am being honored as a change maker, so I hope you will think about how you too can make the change we need.”
Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and UN Special Envoy on Climate Change, Co-Founder and Chair of The Elders and founder of Project Dandelion, was honored for her climate work and called on wealthy nations to help vulnerable people. “You just have to use your voice, use it effectively in the way you know how to do it. Hollywood is about storytelling and breaking through,” she said.
Trudie Styler introduced Angakkorsuaq, who first noticed as a young boy that the Greenland ice mass was melting, and made it his life’s work to tell the world about it. “My intention tonight, if possible, is to awaken this beautiful spirit in you to be a keeper of our Earth. Without you, several billion will lose their homes in your lifetime. Listen to the sound of the wind, it will enter your heart, and it will melt the ice in your heart.”
Atker was recognized for fighting for worker safety and wages, rising from a sweatshop worker at the age of 12 to become the founder and executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Workers’ Solidarity. She told guests, “As you leave this room tonight, I would say at the very least, take one action that is making a difference for the workers in the chain.”
Wine has been recognized for leading a new generation to step up. The Ugandan presidential candidate is the subject of “Bobi Fion, President of the People,” a film nominated for best feature documentary at the Oscars on Sunday. “We encourage young people to think positively, but more importantly, to lead creative, fashionable and entertaining ways to change their thinking and ultimately change their future,” he said.
The highlight of the evening was the Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, on behalf of a group of young leaders, paying tribute to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, for his courage, clarity of message and his work on environmental and social justice . He took three video messages.
Firth said, “This incredible night is exactly why the Green Carpet Fashion Awards are different. Our platform is fashion and entertainment but we are in the business of transformation. This is how we move the story of the climate crisis, and this is how we reform the world together.”
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