Riina O’s ‘Window Exhibition’ At YKK Showroom In Shoreditch.

Riina O (who specialises in hand-stitched luxury leather gloves, + materials research + development) is exhibiting in Shoreditch’s YKK Showroom until mid March.

The exhibition runs until the 13th of March, 2022.

Launched in 2013, Riina O has recently expanded into sustainable materials’ research and development, within the circular economy. Now, the brand is exploring how craft has to adapt in order to work with bio-materials. The goal? To bring these materials out of the experimentation stage, and into practical use in industry.

Riina O has transformed the windows of the YKK Showroom in Shoreditch, London (154 Commercial Street) into an exhibition space, which now displays their collection of handbags and accessories (which are made from Kombucha).

The work process is shown in detail, from the Kombucha fermentation process, to a makeshift lab-space.

As an alternative to PVC, and the PU-based “vegan leather,” Riina has developed a NEW material, which utilises the waste bacterial cellulose generated by local Kombucha drink producers, Twisted Kombucha and Momo Kombucha (who supplied the bacterial cellulose from their Kombucha production).

“In the context of the climate emergency, the fashion industry MUST switch to sustainable practices, utilise waste streams, and concentrate on organic, natural, and renewable resources. It is simply no longer acceptable for the industry to continue generating toxic materials and waste that takes thousands of years to degrade, and that we know will continue to devastate the wider environment and eco-systems,” said Riina.

Through rigorous and meticulous experimentation, and the use of natural oils, waxes, and organic compounds, the material Riina has developed is water-resistant, flexible, and strong. Riina has also enhanced the smell, by using essential oils to develop a pleasant scent of its own.

Riina Õun is the brand creative director, the multi-disciplinary designer, and the materials researcher behind the Riina O brand. She is a graduate of MA Material Futures at Central Saint Martins. She specialised in bio-design, and she previously trained in leather art and accessories design at the Estonian Academy of Arts, before moving to London to work for high-end designers, such as Una Burke, Giles Deacon, and Meadham Kirchhoff, etc.

Riina is also a visiting lecturer, teaching glove-making and sustainable materials workshops at academic institutions around the world, including the London College of Fashion, the Royal College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, the Kolding Design Institute, the Academia Koefia in Rome, the Beijing Academy of Creative Arts, as well as the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, and London Craft Week.

Find out more here: https://www.riinao.com