Latin Fashion Awards to promote winners during Milan Fashion Week

Considering that Spanish ranks number two globally for native language speaking, it’s no wonder that there is an audience among those speakers and non-native speakers for its rich artistic culture.

Its musicians have already become crossover hits from the Latin-to-English market, and two women believe the same can be done for Latino-origin fashion labels and creatives.

Enter Constanza Etro and Silvia Argüello, who co-founded the Latin American Fashion Awards and held its first formal awards in November 2023. Now, the duo is teaming up with the Italian fashion council, the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana or CNMI, to further promote winners after its inaugural ceremony.

FashionNetwork.com spoke to Etro and Argüello about the new initiative to debut during one of the most exciting and essential fashion weeks on the Spring 2025 calendar.

Etro, an Argentinian living in Milan for almost 20 years, said partnering with the CNMI was an organic situation.

“I have worked alongside the CNMI for ten years through my other project, the Fashion Film Festival Milano. I am also a member of the board of the CNMI’s Fashion Trust, and we have done many projects together. When I presented the project to CNMI’s president Carlo Capasa, he understood the impact and relevance of it right away.” she said.

Together, Etro and Argüello have been working with Capasa and his team to host a collective exhibition in the CNMI Fashion Hub during Milan Fashion Week that introduces the 14 categories and winners of the first awards ceremony to the flock of fashion leaders, press, buyers, as well as the public in attendance.

While all winners won’t be there in person, each 2023 participant will be represented, including Designer of the Year Mexican-American Willy Chavarria; Brand of the Year Luar by Dominican American Raúl Lopez; Fashion Icon of the Year Colombian J Balvin; Emerging Designer of the Year Brazilian Karoline Vitto; Artisanal Project of the Year Colombia’s Verd; Responsible Project of the Year Desserto of Mexico and Ecocitex of Chile; Accessories Brand of the Year Mexican Daniela Villegas; Model of the Year Dominican Hiandra Martínez; Fashion Photographer of the Year Colombian Mexican Camila Falquez; Emerging Fashion Photographer of the Year Cuba’s Elliot & Erick; Fashion Film of the Year ‘Divina’ by Brazilian Ode Hilaire; Fashion Influencer of the Year Brazilian Zaya Guarani; Fashion Artist of the Year Colombian Marcelo Gutierrez and Dominican Republic Local Star, Lineisy Montero.
 
Supporting this initiative to gain more visibility in the industry will also be brands such as Karoline Vitto, Ecocitex, Desserto, and Verdi, which will show in a curated physical presence, with Luar exhibiting digitally in a branded and dedicated space at the preeminent trade sales event, the White Show, from September 19 to 22. The week will also include a celebratory cocktail party to celebrate the award winners.
 
“Milan Fashion Week is the perfect stage to showcase the immense contributions of Latin American Talent to the global fashion industry, including press, buyers, celebrities, top-tier industry leaders, creatives, and key decision-makers. We want to ensure they get a closer look at each of our Award Winners to boost their business growth and develop new partnerships for our platform as we head into our Second Edition in November 2025,” Argüello added.

The three profile and business-building events were built into the awards platform so that once recognized with an award, brands will also get support to grow their business and platforms; thus, the awards will take place every two years, with the next one returning to the Dominican Republic in November of 2025. To date, the inaugural event boasts a reach of 2.8 billion in international press and a reach of more than 650 million on social media.

Etro and Argüello said following the award, Guarani was plucked by British Vogue to do a cover story photo shoot by photographer Rafael Pavarotti that paid homage to the Amazon jungle. Next, she spoke at an LVMH sustainability conference during Paris Fashion Week last March. Additionally, she was cast by Ethan Hawke in an upcoming film dedicated to the Amazon, has been featured on the cover of Vogue Brazil, and has been featured in campaigns such as Moncler, all since receiving global recognition for the award.

Similarly, Emerging Designer award winner Karoline Vitto was chosen for a six-month internship led by American industry experts via The Council of Fashion Designers of America, aka CFDA, beginning this month.

As two high-profile Latina fashion industry leaders, Etro and Argüello were perfectly poised to help promote Latin American design to the diaspora. Argentinian-born Etro, married to Etro menswear designer Kean Etro, was named one of the most influential women in Italy and sits on the board of the Italian Fashion Chamber’s Fashion Trust. Before relocating permanently to Milan in 2006, she founded the PR company Cavalli Communication in Mexico City and was the fashion editor of Fashion Week Mexico.

Arguëllo, of Cuban-Nicaraguan descent, resides in the Dominican Republic after working for 25 years in fashion in Paris and Milan with Emanuel Ungaro and Giambattista Valli, among others. Also lauded in the industry, she is the founder and creative director of the fashion brand Rosa Clandestino. Together, they formed the Latin American Fashion Awards in 2019.

According to Etro, the longtime friends promoting their “beloved Latin America” was a dream come true.

“Realizing there were no awards that would recognize Latin American Talent at a global scale, we immediately felt it was time to give back and allocate all our know-how and network built within our 25 years in the industry at the service of our region. We want to create a bridge between Latin America and the Fashion Industry to promote and empower Latin American Talent worldwide.”