Chilling at BAFTA (for the Global Sustainability Film Awards)
On Monday we attended the tve Global Sustainability Film Awards in the newly refurbished BAFTA building on Piccadilly. It’s not something that we’d planned when we started our Climate Code project, but over recent weeks and the successful reception of the shirts, this opportunity presented itself. It actually started with one of our customers, thank you again Nick Dutton.
Having spoken with tve, it was clear very quickly that this event was very much aligned with our collective values and a great opportunity to ‘show our stripes’ with the wider community.
First Impressions
Standing in the early December wind and rain, there was nothing that could diminish the scale and beauty of the BAFTA building on Piccadilly. I found myself with a very real sense of trepidation that seemed to come from nowhere, I’ve no idea where it had crept in, but it certainly had - this was really happening and happening NOW!
Like someone had just flicked the excitement switch to ON, I could feel the endorphins rushing through my body. As we entered the building I could feel the excitement bubbling up inside, it was time to explore further.
The entrance doors are colossal, they must be 3 metres high, heavy, wooden and beautifully styled, BTW, there’s a real risk here of me waxing lyrical about every feature of the interior because it just exudes quality everywhere that you look. A beautiful mixture of wood and stone finishes that creates a warm welcoming space that mixes the beauty of 1920’s art deco with the sharp clean lines of modern, contemporary architecture. I’ll save the gushing aesthetic commentary for another time, let’s just say that the attention to detail is exquisite and that really appeals to me.
Walking around BAFTA there are photographs everywhere, mainly black and white prints of the icons from stage and screen, some old, some new, all masters of their craft. They are presented in small groups, about half a dozen at a time, with each run of the staircase that you climb being rewarded with another set of famous faces (taking the stairs is not only healthier but it’s also much more interesting than the lift, which is nice enough, but there’s no pictures to explore). Climbing up the floors, the shear gravitas of the building and its immense history really starts to hit home. Time to go in to the Ron Dolby Hall.
The Global Sustainability Awards
2021 marks the 10th anniversary of these awards, it’s also the first time they have been able to host an ‘in-person’ event since 2019, so there was a lot of catching up to be done, miles of smiles and a real buzz in the air.
After a welcome drink, and the opportunity to share our shirt thaw with the gathering crowd, it was time for the award ceremony itself. Sat in the theatre watching the films on the large screen, I was reminded that great stories and creativity connects, not big budgets and exotic locations. There’s a full list of the award winners here, and you can see them in all their glory on the tve Youtube channel as well.
The dinner
After the awards it was time for dinner, the dining hall was bursting with energy, everyone was charged after the ceremony, ready to catch up, talk, exchange views, congratulate the winners and learn more about what we are all doing to help the place we call home.
It was wonderful to talk with, and hear from, so many knowledgeable people - a diverse, multi-cultural selection of people from all walks of life, with different backgrounds and areas of expertise, each of whom is passionately working within different areas of society with one common goal – protecting our planet.
A really important part of this, I believe was the integration and celebration of the next generation of young film makers, these are the people that will weather the storm, they are the change makers and speaking with them was inspiring.
What I wasn’t expecting during dinner was to be called on to the stage, we had donated a Climate Code shirt to help raise funds for tve (who are a charity, founded over 37 years ago). When Tony Matharu asked me onto stage to explain why the shirt was important. This was totally out of the blue. I don’t think it was my most polished piece of public speaking but I’m not sure I’d ever really thought that I’d be speaking on stage at BAFTA in front of 200 people. It was a real unexpected pleasure and a project that I am really proud of, so sharing it with the room was a joy.
Showing our stripes
The Climate Code shirt is now being recognised further afield, many people from the GSFA had already heard about the project and seen it at COP26 or Ice Worlds in Greenwich, earlier this year. This is simply great to hear, spreading the word, engaging people in the conversation was always one of our key goals, hearing this was a real thrill. There’s a number of reasons for this, but here’s our top 3…
1 – Sharing a passion. Is there honestly anything nicer than connecting with other people and sharing something that you’re collectively interested in?
2 – Purpose. Having purpose in what you do just feels great, we’ve got lots of ambition and we are working with great people and organisations. This has allowed us to share our purpose, and I simply can’t think of a greater one than people and planet.
3 – The feel-good factor for our customers. That’s you, the people reading this, we’re developing clothes to help you, whether that’s finding your voice, expressing your personality and interests or talking to your inner self. Saying you’ve got this, you can do it.
Clothes most definitely have a voice, they speak to you and the people around you. Creating clothes with stories to share, clothes with depth, integrity and longevity. Clothes that are made with care and respect, using sustainable materials and processes, it just feels right to us. We’d like to thank everyone that supported us this year, it really does mean a lot. Thank you and thank you to the team at The British Antarctic Survey – there’s simply too many people to name from BAS and of course our other collaborator, Professor Ed Hawkins.
And cut
That’s it for this blog post and 2021. It’s been quite the year for DressCode, I believe that we have ‘showed our stripes’ in style, with purpose, passion and respect. We’re looking forward to continuing this journey and I hope that you’ll join us as we explore smart clothing, clothing with utility, depth and meaning, clothing that empowers and engages.