Riina O started out as a handmade luxury leather accessories brand, specializing in hand-stitched leather gloves, launched in 2013. In recent years the brand has expanded into sustainable materials research and development within the circular economy. Riina O explores how craft has to adapt to working with bio-materials, with the goal to bring the materials out of the experimentation stage into practical use in the industry.
Riina Õun is the creative director, a multi-disciplinary designer, and a materials researcher behind Riina O brand. She is a graduate of MA Material Futures at Central Saint Martins, specialising in bio-design.
Previously she 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, Meadham Kirchhoff, etc. Responding to the popular demand for couture leather gloves, Riina O label was born. Material research emerged alongside, answering to the growing demand for sustainable materials.
Riina Õun is also a visiting lecturer teaching glove-making and sustainable materials workshops at academic institutions around the world. A few of the universities include London College of Fashion, Royal College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, Kolding Design Institute, Academia Koefia in Rome, Beijing Academy of Creative Arts as well as organisations such as Norwegian National Opera & Ballet and London Craft Week to name but a few.