Discarded kimono and obi,
remade with people with disabilities,
into one-of-a-kind pieces the world recognizes.
Re:ADY B upcycles discarded kimono and obi into bags, wallets, and accessories. In 2026 we became the first Japanese company to win Gold at the London Design Awards in the Fashion Design (Handmade) category. Based in Hiroshima, we connect the environment, welfare, and tradition in a single cycle.
Why Re:ADY B
A crystallization of Japanese culture is being lost,
without its value ever returning to its makers.
A garment that shared a wedding or a coming-of-age day becomes trash or a bargain-bin secondhand item the moment its role ends — while the weave and the gold thread are still beautiful. Disposal is not the only problem: many are bought by overseas buyers and resold abroad at high prices, returning value neither to the weavers and dyers nor to the culture. Meanwhile, people with disabilities capable of careful handwork cannot find work or pay that matches their skill.
How it works
From discarded kimono and obi,
into one-of-a-kind pieces for everyday life.
Sourcing, making, and selling are all kept in Japan, returning lost value to the makers and the region. Our main products are bags, wallets, card cases, and accessories — every piece one of a kind.
Sourcing discarded kimono and obi through our own network of estate-clearing firms and recycle shops
Handmade one by one, in division of labor with 11 Type B facilities and traditional craftspeople
Bags, wallets, card cases, accessories — each with a different pattern, all one of a kind
Three permanent retail locations in Japan, cross-border e-commerce, and corporate partnerships
Revenue and stories return to makers and the region, funding the rescue of the next piece
Our business model is fabless — headquarters focuses on material management, design, brand, and sales channels, while manufacturing is commissioned to welfare facilities and traditional craftspeople. Growth in sales translates directly into more work and higher wages in the region.
The Award
London Design Awards 2026
Gold Winner.
Re:ADY B, a brand of Setouchi Mirai Design, has won Gold Winner at the London Design Awards 2026, an international design award hosted by the International Awards Associate (IAA) — an award whose entrants include global companies such as Alibaba and OPPO.
The winning work is our new MIKOSHI Bag series, recognized for upcycling obi, Hiroshima traditional crafts, and collaboration with Type B employment-support facilities. Gold in Fashion Design (Handmade) is a first for a Japanese company.
The Work — MIKOSHI Bag
Every obi carries a story
from before it became a bag.
Kimono and obi have been woven for ceremonies, for prayer, for the milestones of a life. Though one of Japan's most refined textile traditions, an estimated 1,000 tons are discarded every year.
— Hand-engraved by Hiroshima's last-generation metal craftsmen.
The design philosophy of the MIKOSHI Bag is "integrity to structure." Rather than cutting the obi apart and reassembling it into another shape, we use the obi's original width as the very foundation of the bag's silhouette. The continuous pattern the weaver intended flows across the surface of the bag, never severed.
Each handle is hand-engraved by Kuninobu Yoshida, the fifth-generation metal engraver of a Hiroshima workshop founded in 1890. The arabesque motif he carves symbolizes eternity, prosperity, and rebirth — chosen deliberately to reflect an obi finding new purpose, a vanishing craft finding new expression, and skilled hands at employment-support facilities finding new meaning in their work.
The leather edging is hand-stitched by craftspeople at Yassa Kobo Nishimachi, a Type B employment-support facility in Mihara, Hiroshima. For each bag, the cord color that best harmonizes with the obi is chosen individually. Because the pattern appears differently depending on where the obi is cut, every piece has its own expression — and no two are ever the same.
Message from our mentor
Re:ADY B began serious overseas market research after joining an open advisory session hosted by Daisuke Yamazaki, Vice President of Mother House Co., Ltd., in July 2025. Researching the overseas potential of the then still-in-development MIKOSHI Bag at an early stage contributed greatly to this award.
Since April 2026 we have also participated in Mr. Yamazaki's management seminar, receiving practical guidance on sharpening the brand's message, designing products and services, and reaching customers. That learning and encouragement became the driving force behind our decision to enter an international award.
“Congratulations on the London Design Award. I'm excited for a future in which you keep creating products that bring new approaches to traditional crafts. This is still only the starting line — I look forward to even greater leaps from here.”
Track record
Measured results, one and a half years in.
In 2026 we moved into a full business phase under a management innovation plan approved by Hiroshima Prefecture. The figures below cover our proof-of-concept period (through September 2025).
Partners & collaborations
Sports, welfare, international exchange, government.
Our partnerships keep growing.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima
Accessories using Hiroshima-made sanada-himo cord and decorative parts from temples and mikoshi were selected as inbound-demand products. On sale from April 2026.
Japan Blind Football Association
We co-developed the KURO Series, which can be enjoyed by touch by people who cannot see. Products where people with disabilities are both makers and users.
PEACE BOAT
Card cases combining kimono fabric with African kanga cloth, produced as gifts for PEACE BOAT's visits to African embassies during its round-the-world voyage.
Mihara City, Hiroshima
Working with the city and local welfare facilities, our upcycled bags and small goods were registered as hometown-tax return gifts — recognition of the public value of this industry-welfare model.
Including collaborations with local industries such as Kumano brushes, Hiroshima Buddhist-altar engraving, and Hiroshima-made denim, we have partnered with more than 10 organizations (as of June 2026).
Vision
Redefining the value of "wa,"
toward a world where everyone works with purpose.
Kimono and obi that were destined to be thrown away, and the buried skills of their makers. We bring both from Hiroshima to the world, connecting environment, welfare, tradition, and education in a single cycle.
We are still a small brand. But breathing life once more into obi and kimono no longer in use; passing the handwork accumulated in Hiroshima on to the next generation; making things together, with and without disabilities, supporting one another — each of these, we believe, remains as value that no number can capture.
Not “bought because it's charity,” but “chosen because it's beautiful.”
Products
Bring Re:ADY B
into your everyday.
Choosing one piece rescues the next kimono and supports the makers' craft. Every product is made from discarded kimono or obi, handmade one at a time by Type B employment-support facilities and traditional craftspeople. No two are alike.
The award-commemorating pieces are being prepared for release. Please contact us for availability, made-to-order requests, and lead times.
Together
Bringing Hiroshima's craft
further into the world.
- If you have obi or kimono that have finished their role, we would be grateful to receive them.
- If you know recycle shops, Type B facilities, or traditional craftspeople, please introduce us.
- We are looking for makers doing excellent work who are struggling to find a destination for it.
Get in touch
Purchasing an award-commemorating piece directly supports work for Type B employment-support facilities and the challenge of bringing Hiroshima's handwork to the world. If you know someone considering remaking or parting with kimono or obi, please introduce Re:ADY B.