*LOS ANGELES* (MARCH. 27, 2022)
Paloma Garcia Lee stars in the Best Picture nominated West Side Story and makes her Oscars debut representing Suzy Amis Cameron’s RCGD Global™ initiative in collaboration with TENCEL™ this evening. She shined on the red carpet at 94th Academy Awards ® wearing an ethical and eco-responsible Patrick McDowell custom-made gown in a luxury textile made from TENCEL™ filament yarn.
To qualify as a RCGD eco-conscious garment, each piece should be made from sustainable materials – including organic, recycled or repurposed fibers. Other features include using hand-made craftsmanship details and small local production with a dedicated focus on minimal negative impact on the environment, and environmentally and socially responsible design. The campaign focuses on social elements of sustainability including human resources, community impact, value cycle and legal frameworks.
Seasoned Broadway performer Paloma Garcia Lee wears a custom Patrick McDowell and embodies the modern day star of an old classic. The gown is a nod to old Hollywood glamour with a modern edge. A sharp busier balloons into an elegant column creating a statuesque figure with a dramatic train. As she walks the red carpet contrasting darkly in this Bottle green sensation, Paloma walks into her new era of couture.
‘I’m so excited to be dressing Paloma Garcia Lee for the Oscars this year. To do this with the backing of RCGD global is incredible, sustainability with beautiful design is at the heart of everything that we do and I’m so thrilled to be able to showcase this on the global stage together.’ – Patrick McDowell
The sustainable luxury range of textiles from RCGD Global will be available for retail this year.
About PALOMA GARCIA LEE
Paloma Garcia Lee stars as Graziella in Steven Spielberg’s long anticipated West Side Story, which premiered December 10, 2021. Graziella is Riff’s (Mike Faist) girlfriend who has a torrid history with Tony (Ansel Elgort) and is often the ultimate bad girl. This new interpretation allowed Paloma to really dive into the depth and back story of her troubled character. Paloma was also recently seen on the small screen in FX’s Fosse/Verdon miniseries and is a seasoned Broadway performer who has appeared in productions of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Phantom of the Opera. In her free time she is an avid equestrian, toxophilite (archery enthusiast) and loves fashion and art. Paloma currently divides her time between Los Angeles and New York City.
About RCGD GLOBAL™
RCGD Global™ is a women-led global change-making organisation working from ‘moment’ to movement, bringing sustainability to the forefront of conversation and action within the fashion and apparel industry. Celebrating its 10th year in 2019, the campaign was conceived by Suzy Amis Cameron (actress, environmental advocate, and author of OMD: The Simple, Plant-Based Program to Save Your Health, Save Your Waistline and Save the Planet). When faced with the lack of ethical fashion choices while attending global premieres of husband James Camerons’ ‘Avatar’, Suzy decided that it was time for a change. The RCGD Global™ goal is to draw attention to the importance of more sustainable practices in fashion and be part of bringing those solutions to the global market. Suzy created an international design contest, challenging emerging and established designers worldwide to develop sustainable Oscar-worthy gowns, thus fulfilling the RCGD Global™ criteria to serve the need for more sustainability in the industry.
Leading fashion houses including Louis Vuitton, Vivienne Westwood, Armani, Elie Saab, Swarovski, Christian Siriano, Bulgari, Dunhill and Reformation have joined the campaign to create sustainable red carpet wear. Celebrities including Sophie Turner, Emma Roberts, Marlee Matlin, Danielle MacDonald, Gina Rodriguez, LaKeith Stanfield, Kellan Lutz, Camila Alves, and Naomie Harris have joined the campaign as representatives. RCGD Global™ has been featured in VOGUE, Vanity Fair, W Magazine, People, The Hollywood Reporter, WWD, Washington Post, Harper’s Bazaar, Refinery29, The Guardian, ELLE, LA Times, The New York Times, InStyle amongst others across 36 countries.
About TENCEL™
TENCEL™ is the textile specialty brand under The Lenzing Group that covers textile specialty product fiber offerings for apparel and home. The TENCEL™ product brand portfolio defines a new evolutionary step in terms of sustainability, functional benefits, natural comfort and caters for distinctive everyday usage or application. Product brands under TENCEL™ include TENCEL™ Active, TENCEL™ Denim, TENCEL™ Home, TENCEL™ Intimate, TENCEL™ Luxe and TENCEL™ for Footwear.
Featuring botanic origin and biodegradable quality, TENCEL™ branded modal and lyocell fibers can enhance the breathability of fabrics and have a minimal static charge when used in fabrics. Fabrics made of TENCEL™ Modal and Lyocell fibers are also gentle on skin with smooth, long-lasting softness, color vibrancy and color retention features. TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers are versatile and can be combined with a wide range of textile fibers to enhance the aesthetics and functionality of fabrics. Through moisture management, TENCEL™ Lyocell fibers can also absorb moisture efficiently. A variant of the Lyocell production process also produces the TENCEL™ Luxe branded lyocell filament yarn, which is an extremely fine filament yarn for luxury fabrics and supremely smooth to the touch. Exhibiting high flexibility, TENCEL™ Modal fibers enhance textiles with a naturally soft quality. Offering endless design possibilities, TENCEL™ Modal fibers can be blended with other fibers and processed using conventional machinery, significantly improving the softness and comfort of fabrics.
Fibers and filaments used under the TENCEL™ brand are derived from certified and controlled sources following the stringent guidelines of the Lenzing Wood and Pulp Policy. Namely, TENCEL™ branded modal and lyocell fibers, as well as TENCEL™ Luxe branded filament yarn, are produced via environmentally responsible production processes and are compostable and biodegradable, thus can fully revert back to nature. They are designated by the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) BioPreferred® Program.
About PATRICK McDOWELL
Based in London, Patrick McDowell started his career studying fashion design at Central Saint Martins. While learning his craft, Patrick worked at Burberry, working under Christopher Bailey before going on to launch his own brand in 2018 with discarded Burberry fabrics and Swarovski crystals. In 2019 Patrick was nominated by Anna Wintour for the Stella McCartney today for tomorrow award. In 2020 Patrick became a Graduate Fashion week Global Ambassador while also receiving a British Fashion Award nomination. At the beginning of 2021, he was appointed Sustainability Design Director of the Italian womenswear brand Pinko and continues to work across the fashion industry developing Reimagine collections to reduce fashion’s global impact.
Patrick has been published in top fashion publications across the world including Vogue, WWD and Dazed. Patrick is a leading voice on creative sustainability reinventing the role of a fashion designer for the modern world.