Ryota Sakai is a semi-finalist of the Redress Design Award 2019. He studied Fashion Design at Polimoda International Institute of Fashion Design & Marketing, Italy and is currently working in IT.

“I’m passionate about recycling unwanted clothes, particularly when more than a million tonnes of apparel is discarded each year. I believe that keeping clothing in circulation is the key to solving the environmental issues caused by the industry”. - Ryota Sakai

redress Design Award Collection

For his Redress Design Award collection ‘Sai’, Ryota is heavily influenced by ‘Mottainai’ - a Japanese term which conveys a sense of regret over waste - and is inspired by the functional embroidery technique of Sashiko that strengthens fabric through repair. Ryota works solely with reconstructed secondhand denim garments, creating a hard wearing non-trend led collection that will last over time.

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