MILAN — The Black Carpet Awards have earmarked Feb. 25 for the gala night’s sophomore edition.
The yearly, Afro Fashion Association-promoted event celebrating leaders of change based in Italy and belonging to underrepresented communities who are active in creative and entrepreneurial industries is to be held at Palazzo Reale on the Duomo Square during Milan Fashion Week, which will run from Feb. 20 to 26.
The awards will celebrate underrepresented talents from across fashion, design, food, music, sport and cinema, among other fields, in hopes to further the diversity, equity and inclusion conversation globally.
In keeping with the inaugural edition, the Afro Fashion Association, which boasts a database of more than 3,000 professionals based in Italy, will shortlist 25 finalists competing for one of the 10 prizes across the five categories: culture, legacy, creativity, community and entrepreneurship.
Five winners will be selected by a jury led by the Afro Fashion Association’s Michelle Francine Ngonmo, while the remaining five will be selected via online voting.
A new, special prize named after the late creative Virgil Abloh is being introduced. “This year, our team is committed to continuing Virgil’s legacy by supporting emerging talents in our way. The Virgil Abloh Award celebrates young designers who are making a significant impact in the industry through their creative work,” said Ngonmo, the mastermind of the Afro Fashion Association and the Black Carpet Awards.
The Ngonmo-led jury will include Off-White’s art and image director Ib Kamara; social media personality Tamu McPherson; Mumi Haiati, founder and chief executive officer of Berlin-based communication agency Reference Studios; art and fashion curator and digital art expert Gloria Maria Cappelletti; Jordan Anderson, the Milan-based journalist and creative director behind the My Queer Blackness, My Black Queerness, or MQBMBQ, digital project; art director Macs Iotti; designers Stella Jean and Edward Buchanan, both mentors and supporters of the Afro Fashion Association; model Simonetta Gianfelici; Ghanaian-born, Italian-based designer Nana Brenu; Cult creative director Victoria Adaeze Ejiogu, and Celia Sears, founder and president of Show Division, a leading production company providing creative and logistics backstage support to fashion shows and fashion-leaning events.
More jurors are to be revealed at a later stage, organizers said.
The scene at the inaugural Black Carpet Awards held in February 2023.
Courtesy of Afro Fashion Association
Active since 2015 spotlighting talents of different backgrounds with an original focus on the African continent, the Afro Fashion Association is also unveiling “The New Wave” short movie at the upcoming Black Carpet Awards. The video will highlight 10 innovative and inspiring emerging creative talents from around the world.