DENISE HO, CREATIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE R COLLECTIVE

TELL US ABOUT THE R COLLECTIVE AND YOUR ROLE?

I am the Creative Director for The R Collective. We upcycle luxury excess materials and as a team try to figure out the most sustainable way to create a collection using these rescued materials. This includes working with sustainable fashion designers from the Redress Design Awards, designing out waste by using sustainable design techniques like upcyling, striving for zero waste design, deconstruction etc. I oversee all creative direction, this includes two main collections each year, plus three or four collaboration projects.

How did it all begin for The R Collective?

We are a social impact business born out of Redress. Our CEO, Christina Dean, is also the Founder of Redress. She started The R Collective in 2017, with the belief that we can create beautiful collections while reducing waste and pollution created by the fashion industry.

What is a stand out moment for you with The R Collective?

A stand out moment would be figuring out how to do zero waste designs in scale without going to school for it.

What has you excited right now?

I’m inspired and excited about the creative work that has a higher meaning and holds true to a higher purpose. I also love to collaborate and work with talented people from different backgrounds, styles and viewpoints. It's exciting because I learn so much from the experience.

tell us about the year ahead?

We are creating a bigger collection with a conceptual presentation that we have never done before. This involves collaborating with four designers under one creative brief, and working on upcycling projects with a few established fashion labels.