Come è andata la prima edizione dei Black Carpet Award 2023

This past weekend, one of the most monumental events of the fashion season in Milan was undoubtedly the Black Carpet Awards. The awards ceremony was presented at the MEET digital cultural center and ideated by Afro Fashion Association’s Michelle Ngonmo in an effort to celebrate and acknowledge the accomplishments of local overlooked talent across several industries. It was done in collaboration with a variety of partners including nss magazine, Vogue Italia, Meta - Instagram, Macsiotti, Capri Holdings, Miller Knoll, Reference Studios, and most importantly Bulldog Gin, which sponsored the Leader of Change: Entrepreneur award presented by the brand's  Premium Brands and After Meal Marketing Director himself during the awards ceremony. The event in itself was a success in many ways; the guest list alone included a lineup of fashion insiders such as Anna Wintour, Imran Amed,  Khaby Lame , Julia Fox, Trussardi CEO Sebastian Suhl among others who all turned up in support of the event’s first edition. 

However, although the support of these big industry players was greatly valued, what was the most memorable part of the evening was the palpable sense of community that was created among attendees. The ceremony, hosted by Tamu McPherson was composed of a list of five awards, meant to acknowledge ten leaders of change in entrepreneurship, creativity , culture , community & legacy. The winners for each category were respectively founder of blog & haircare business NaturAngi  Angela Haisha Adamou &content creator and founder of Colory Tia Taylor, ; Singer David Blank & director & producer Daphne Di Cinto; TikToker Khaby Lame, the founder of We Africans United Sarah Kamsu & director and producer Fred Kudjo Kuwornu ; doctor and founder of Festival Divercity Andi Nganso & Author Nadeesha Uyangoda; Fashion Director Edward Buchanan and chef Victoire Gouloubi. The evening also included a moving video tribute to the late Virgil Abloh by local creatives, some of which were also nominees. 

Behind each awardee & nominee was an unwavering tribe of people and with each person that went up to accept their award, was a relatable story of resilience against the many odds that afro-descendant people face in this country, that created a blanket of camaraderie throughout the entire.  It was an emotional evening, mainly because many of those who were awarded were not new names, but people who have been creating work that was deserving of acknowledgement on a local and global scale for years, and this event was the first of its kind that signals towards a shift in Italy. It’s a cultural shift that is unlike any other, as it is slow, and quiet, but much more permanent than any other diversity trends that preceded it . This type of change comes from the inside and is built and narrated by the people who require it. Its impact is not flashy or ostentatious but  created with intention, the intention of simmering into the deepest crevices of society for a footprint that will last and help generations to come. 

«Very often we feel comfortable comparing ourselves with people who differ from our same background or our same opinion, but the different perspectives are enriching. Diversity and inclusion are not synonymous and they are certainly not abstract concepts nor should they be addressed as a "politically correct" theme because they are an integral part of our daily life. The Black Carpet Awards, contrary to what the name might lead you to believe, is not only about the black community, but about the color black as an absolute, as the "sum of all colors", which is obtained by mixing all the different pigments. This is exactly the idea, all together, sitting at the same table and joining forces, to discuss the beauty of diversity and how it is a decisive factor for the cultural heritage and for the economic growth of society. This, in my opinion, is certainly the uniqueness and originality of this event», Michelle Ngonmo founder dei Black Carpet Awards.