Winner: Material innovation of the year. Kvadrat has designed Ame, a textile product made from recycled waste.

Ame is the first textile-to-textile project from Kvadrat Innovation Lab, woven with recycled polyester made entirely from textile waste.

Featuring a design inspired by Sashiko, a traditional Japanese mending technique, Ame embodies longevity and mindful reuse in its construction and aesthetic.

"[We] work with a wide range of recycled raw materials, but we believe that the future will be circular and so for Ame, [we] developed the first yarn made from polyester textile waste," said Kvadrat.

Judges comments: "Ame draws attention to the vast amount of waste materials generated by the textile industry and offers an innovative method for how it can be reycled to a textile of the same – if not greater – value. While we works to phase out synthetic materials, Ame fills a yawning gap in the market for beautifully designed fabrics made from reyclced instead of virgin plastic."

Studio: Kvadrat
Project: Ame
Credits: Teruhiro Yanagihara Studio