At the 25th YKK Fastening Awards, Akira Sakano, CCO of ECOMMIT Co., Ltd., participated in the judging for the newly established Circular Design Special Award.

At the 25th YKK Fastening Awards, Akira Sakano, CCO of ECOMMIT Co., Ltd., participated in the judging for the newly established Circular Design Special Award.

The Circular Design Special Award was presented to “Re Tree,” a work by Kanade Konno of Bunka Fashion College, inspired by nature.
The design was highly praised for its long-term perspective, including the use of fasteners to enable partial replacement and a structure that allows the garment to be worn for an extended period.

“Re Tree” also received the Apparel Category Grand Prix at the same time.

About the 25th YKK Fastening Awards
https://www.ykk.com/fa/award/result/#r03

Photo: 25th YKK Fastening Awards – Apparel Category Grand Prix / Circular Design Special Award
Kanade Konno, Bunka Fashion College, “Re Tree”
Photo courtesy of YKK Corporation

Akira Sakano
Senior Executive Officer / CCO , ECOMMIT Co., Ltd.
Overall Commentary on the Works

Among the entries, there were works that successfully incorporated the concept of circular design while achieving a level of completion appropriate for a fashion competition.

On the other hand, some works adopted circular design elements but were not able to sufficiently articulate them as part of their core concept. This highlighted once again the importance of education and awareness, as well as support for creators in verbalizing and communicating their ideas.

Many outstanding works were seen from the perspectives of “product longevity,” “reuse,” “upcycling,” and “repair.”
As ECOMMIT Co., Ltd., which provides and proposes infrastructure and solutions for resource circulation toward the realization of a “society without waste,” we would like to see greater incorporation in the future of designs that are easy to recycle, namely design innovations that facilitate re-resourceization.

Even in works with a strong art-piece orientation, it was impressive to see students consciously engaging with circular design and applying creative ingenuity. Through this challenge, what truly matters is what the next generation, who will shape the future of the fashion industry, chooses to put into practice going forward.

We believe that realizing a “society without waste” requires cross-boundary collaboration—thinking in terms of multiplication rather than addition—to create true game-changing impact.
By transcending conventional boundaries, expanding and deepening their activities, and communicating their own messages, we hope these creators will contribute to the realization of a circular society.