It’s time to find the eco fashion creators and start-ups of tomorrow. Vogue Italia and Yoox partner up with a scouting project called “Vogue Yoox Challenge” which was kicked off with a classy inaugural dinner in Milan’s San Paolo Converso church.
Federico Marchetti is a trailblazer in his own right. He is the techy guy in fashion who started the etail pioneer Yoox in 2000 and now has partnered up with Johann Rupert and Richemont to make YNAP the golden standard in luxury online stores. We all know that fashion is one of the major polluting industries in the world affecting water, air and soil. Not to mention the waste created in packaging by companies like YNAP when delivering their goods. Marchetti is very much aware of this and instinctively understands that his next step must be to help foster a new generation of creators and start-ups. Unlike Farfetch, which is buying designer labels to create independence, the YNAP chairman wants to tackle the issue at the source. He is looking for talent which has grown up more environmentally conscious and who are used to using recycling bins since their childhood. Only they can naturally think of ways to vegetable dye garments and not use chemicals to keep water clean or buy up existing stock of used garments and upcycle or eschew animal skins and furs.
From left to right: Emanuele Farneti, Sara Maino and Federico Marchetti.
Marchetti partnered up for this challenge with Vogue Italia’s editor in chief Emanuele Farneti who has done a Save Venice cover for his latest issue. The two see eye-to-eye on the scouting project and with the help of Sara Maino, the fashion industry’s most astute talent spotter and deputy editor in chief of Vogue, they will select up to ten finalists by September 2020 chosen by a scientific panel of sustainability experts. Then an international fashion jury will judge the projects and the winner will receive support for a show in February 2021 with a cash prize of €50,000 plus mentoring and support by Yoox and Vogue Italia not unlike the LVMH prize.
Marchetti always a bit tongue in cheek treated his illustrious guests such as art curator Francesco Bonami, artists Maurizio Cattelan and Francesco Vezzoli or designer Arthur Arbesser and members of the jury like Suzy Menkes to a vegetarian meal. A mini scandal in one of the finest dining cities of the world.
From left to right: Liya Kebede, Amber Valletta, Federico Marchetti and Emanuele Farneti.
The guests:
Eva Herzigová and Maurizio Cattelan.
Yoox founder Federico Marchetti.
Artist Maurizio Cattelan.
Designer Arthur Arbesser.
Max Mara WW Communications and PR President Giorgio Guidotti.
Art curator Francesco Bonami.
Karolína Kurková.
Artist Francesco Vezzoli.
Designer Stella Jean and Suzy Menkes.
Andrea Della Valle and Emanuele Farneti.
From left to right: Sara Maino, Liya Kebede and Carla Sozzani.
Federico Marchetti, Anna Wintour and Emanuele Farneti.
