MILAN —There was screaming outside Milan’s La Scala for the CNMI Sustainable Fashion Awards 2025 ceremony on Saturday evening, but this time it had nothing to do with the arrival of K-pop stars as seen throughout fashion week outside show venues.

The high-pitched chants related to a much more serious issue, as pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered outside the theater. Guests of the event, dressed up in cocktail attire, admitted to feeling sheepish, reminded so powerfully about the current context, and hurried their way inside the storied building more quickly than in previous editions.

The event was held a day earlier than in the past to allow the Giorgio Armani show to close the week on Sunday evening. In light of the death of the designer on Sept. 4, the Camera della Moda, which organizes the event in collaboration with the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion and the city of Milan, decided to bestow the Legacy Award to Armani for his contribution to fashion. This replaced the traditional Visionary Award, which was given to Armani in 2022.

Leo Dell’Orco, the designer’s right-hand man for years and one of his main heirs who now takes the design reins of the brand, his niece Silvana Armani, and his nephew Andrea Camerana received the award from the hands of Anna Wintour. They received a standing ovation but did not speak on stage.

In her introductory speech, Wintour praised the designer for his long-lasting influence which was reflected by the recent collections on the runways, and how, through the late Franca Sozzani and her son Francesco Carrozzini, she became closer to Armani.

However, Wintour admitted the relationship at times hit some bumps, especially when Armani felt he was neglected by Vogue. When Tom Ford appeared on the fashion scene with Gucci, Armani was none too pleased by a Vogue spread dedicated to the American designer. “Who is this Tom Ford?” said Wintour recalling Armani’s annoyed tone. “He was not vain, but he wanted to make sure that his brand would remain at the pinnacle and part of the conversation. He was a gentle lion.”

The event included a performance of Roberto Bolle and the theater’s ballet company of Maurice Ravel’s “Boléro.”

Actress Shailene Woodley, who has been vocal about environmental advocacy, serving as a Greenpeace Oceans Ambassador and cofounding the youth-focused nonprofit All It Takes, was the presenter of the event, which recognizes personalities and companies that stand out for their vision, innovation, commitment to craftsmanship, recognition of differences, circular economy, human rights, environmental justice and biodiversity.

Actress and producer Trudie Styler, an advocate for human rights and environmental causes through the Rainforest Foundation, which she cofounded with her husband, Sting, and a UNICEF Ambassador, bestowed the SFA Education of Excellence Award to Kiton. CEO and men’s creative director Antonio De Matteis, flanked by Maria Giovanna Paone, president and women’s creative director and members of the Kiton’s Tailoring School, received the award on stage. The school, said De Matteis, “is the most valuable asset” of the company  and urged his peers to “place trust in the young generation.”

Actress Kelly Rutherford, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, who has focused on issues affecting women and children, bestowed the SFA Groundbreaker Award to the Aura Blockchain Consortium. It was received by Alexandra Lupas, Aura board member and Prada Group corporate projects director; Stefano Rosso, CEO of Marni, chairman of Maison Margiela and board member of the Consortium; Eric de Rocquigny, COO of Van Cleef & Arpels and board member of the Consortium, and Nelly Mensah, VP of digital innovation at LVMH. They explained that the Switzerland-based group now encompasses 50 members, from the founding five in 2022 which included LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, Diesel parent company OTB Group, Prada Group, Richemont’s Cartier and Mercedes-Benz and that the Consortium had crossed the 70 million mark, hitting a milestone with that many luxury products now registered with the technology.

The SFA Biodiversity and Water Award was bestowed by Woodley to the Ermenegildo Zegna Group and received by Anna Zegna, third-generation member of the founding family, president of the Ermenegildo Zegna Foundation and board member of Zegna N.V., and Alessandro Sartori, artistic director of Zegna brand. Anna Zegna paid tribute to the namesake founder of the company touting how he created the Oasi Zegna in Trivero, Italy “out of a barren land” planting hundreds of trees, and she urged to commit to sustainability as “the future is now.”

Human rights activist Iman bestowed the SFA Craft and Artisanship Award to the Tod’s Group, received by creative director of Tod’s Matteo Tamburini, underscoring the manual craft of the Italian artisans behind the luxury brand, and the availability of the digital passport that allows full traceability of Tod’s products.  

Willy Chavarria, founder and creative director of his namesake brand, received the SFA Diversity and Inclusion Award from Jesse Williams, an activist within the Black Lives Matter movement.  

“Diversity and inclusion are a mirror of society,” said the designer. “Fashion is a language and it is more than a commodity. It can inspire and affirm dignity, and stories can project cultural realities especially when there is such a rapid erasure in some places.” He urged to “open doors and empower and tell the story of all of us.”

The Bicester Collection Award for Emerging Designers was bestowed to The Sake Project by Michelle Monaghan and Laurent Vinay, executive of Bicester Collection, to Ana Tafur, founder and creative director of The Sake Project.

Other awards included the SFA Circular Economy Award bestowed by Greta Ferro to Maria Silvia Pazzi, founder and CEO of Regenesi and Regenstech; the SFA Human Capital and Social Impact Award to the Saheli Woman project, bestowed by Toni Garrn; the SFA Climate Action Award to Schneider Group in the persons Giovanni Schneider, president, and CEO Laura Ros bestowed by Paola Deda.