February 25 marked our first ever Positive Luxury Awards ceremony, a celebration of luxury brands from our community and beyond that have shown a strong commitment to sustainability. Held at the Kimpton Fitzroy in London, read on for all the highlights from a fabulous evening.
Our hosts, Stephen Webster and Lisa Snowdon
Our entertaining pair of hosts for the evening, Stephen Webster and Lisa Snowdon, guided the event and introduced each award presenter. Lisa was wearing a gorgeous Mother of Pearl gown hired from My Wardrobe HQ, and Stephen Webster, whose eponymous brand has a Butterfly Mark, rocked a red blazer and camouflage trousers. Together, entertained the crowd, told stories about their friendships with our founder, and joined the cocktail party in Palm Court when the evening wrapped.
The Q&A
Carole Bamford and photographer Misan Harriman sat down for an inspiring Q&A after Carole was presented with her Lifetime Achievement Award. When Misan asked her for a single piece of advice after more than 40 years promoting organic, sustainable living, she said, “Believe in yourself. Have a passion, and believe in what you are doing.” She also added that we should listen to the young. “Greta Thunberg made us all listen, and the young know we need to make a change very soon. And don’t keep buying new things. Everyone has fabulous things in their closets. We can all make tiny changes that have a big impact,” she added.
The details
The Positive Luxury Awards were as carbon neutral as possible, with FSC-certified paper for all printed materials and the majority of the items on the menu were plant-based. We also served two flavours of gin from our drinks partner, Warner’s Gin, before and after the ceremony. The first was Lemon Balm, with all of the lemon botanicals grown on Falls Farm in Northamptonshire, where the Warner’s distillery is located. The second was Raspberry, and a portion of the proceeds from that flavour are donated to the PTES to help protect hedgerow species. Every attendee was encouraged to either rewear something they already owned, or hire an outfit from My Wardrobe HQ. All the flower arrangements from Arena Flowers were made up of 50% waste and 50% British, seasonally-sourced flowers. At the end of the evening, every bouquet was donated to Floral Angels, a charity that delivers flowers to hospices and care homes around London. We also partnered with Pur Projets to inset our impact of our awards ceremony.
The inspiring acceptance speeches
All of the winners took care to acknowledge the community of brands in the room who are all working towards the same goal. “I just wanted to shout out the other brands in this category, and all the other brands that were nominated tonight,” said Natalie Glaze, founder of Stay Wild and the winner of the Breakthrough Brand of the Year award. “They are such amazing brands with sustainability at their core and it gives me real hope for the future.”
Images: Dave Benett
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