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Does celebrating diversity in collateral events really promote inclusion?

The third edition of the Black Carpet Awards recently lit up the Teatro Manzoni during Milano Fashion Week. The event is promoted by the Afro Fashion Association. It celebrates Leaders of Change—individuals of all origins and backgrounds who have distinguished themselves by promoting diversity, inclusion, and equity within the creative industry. 

While such initiatives are undoubtedly meaningful, they also ignite a critical question: should diversity be honored in separate, side events, or should all origins, voices, and experiences be seamlessly integrated into the main stage?

Black Carpet Awards: The dual edge of the side event

Creating a side event like the Black Carpet Awards has both strengths and limitations:

Strengths:

• It shines a spotlight specifically on Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE). And it ensures that those values and the people embodying them aren’t overlooked.
• It builds vital visibility and fosters a powerful sense of community, making representation the central theme rather than a footnote.

Limits:

• By existing “outside” the official calendar, it can unintentionally reinforce the idea that diversity is a niche topic, not an integral part of the industry’s fabric.
• It risks creating a separation: the official stage for the mainstream, the side stage for diversity.

However, in one of our previous posts, we explored whether fashion is a matter of representation or money. Disability, of course, adds another layer to the question.

Final thoughts: Diversity fully integrated

So, where does this leave us? Side events like the Black Carpet Awards are vital because they provide visibility, role models, and communities that might otherwise remain unseen. Yet keeping these celebrations separate risks reinforcing the idea that diversity is an exception rather than the norm.

True inclusion means weaving diverse voices into the industry’s very core. Camera Moda should fully integrate diversity into the main and official events, making it a core value rather than an add-on.

Progress will not be achieved by parallel stages, but when the main stage itself reflects the richness of all identities. Diversity should no longer need its own platform; it should be the platform.

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